Tennis / Serial Champion

Suddenly, everything is going well for Shahar Peer. For the first time in her career she won her second consecutive title, and extended her winning streak to 10 matches.

"I'm really happy to have won two tournaments in a row, especially as it happened without losing a single set," she said after defeating Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-4 in the Tashkent Open women's singles final. "It shows that my tennis is improving and I'm playing well and consistently, especially on important points. I want and hope to maintain this momentum in the coming weeks, until the end of the year."

Amanmuradova, ranked 113th in the world, had the local crowd behind her, but lost vital shots on her serve in the fifth game of the opening set. The 22-year-old second-seeded Israeli again broke the Uzbek's serve when leading 5-3 to take the set. The second set swung both ways until Peer again broke her opponent's serve at 5-4 to claim the title.

Immediately after the victory Peer appeared dressed in a traditional local costume, and recounted that her coach, Pablo Giacopelli, will have to travel in this strange garb to Beijing following a bet between the two. "I know I'm a bit of a crazy girl - I thank you for everything," she told him. "It's a special day in Israel, and I hope we will all be inscribed in the Book of Life."

As a result of her success in Tashkent, Peer - whose highest world ranking was 15 in January 2007 - will miss the preliminary rounds of the WTA Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Instead, toward the end of the week she will compete with players roughly her level in the WTA China Open in Beijing.