Slovakia’s third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova successfully defended her Pattaya Open title on Sunday, beating fourth seed Russian Maria Kirilenko in a marathon three hour 14-minute battle. The three sets victory 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3 was Hantuchova’s fifth career title, and means the world number 20 is now unbeaten in 10 matches at the Thai resort, where her victory this year brings her $37,000. Her Russian opponent and world number 26 Kirilenko was playing in her 10th career final, and was hoping for her first title since she beat Samantha Stosur in Seoul in 2008.
