Szavay Szucceeds, Schnyder Schtumbles

Agnes Szavay lifted a trophy for the first time since late 2007 Sunday in Budapest, after defeating top seed Patty Schnyder 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to win the biggest title in her home country of Hungary.

Szavay seemed nervous throughout the first set and early in the second--understandable for someone playing her first final in over a year in front of family and friends. But she seemed to relax on time, and as the Hungarian crowd rallied around Szavay, Schnyder seemed to lose her spirit.

Szavay has quietly been having an excellent middle part of 2009 (except on her weakest surface, grass), and is definitely a name to keep an eye on during the US Open Series. She's played her best tennis on hard courts in hot weather, and there's no reason that the right draw couldn't see her match the success she had in Flushing Meadows in 2007.