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Posted at 6:55 a.m., Friday, January 11, 2008

Tennis: Daniilidou wins Hobart in walkover

Associated Press

HOBART, Australia (AP) _ Eleni Daniilidou's first WTA Tour singles title since Seoul in 2006 and her fifth overall was her easiest, winning the Hobart International final Friday in a walkover.

Vera Zvonareva of Russia rolled her left ankle during a practice session about two hours before the scheduled start of the final at The Domain Tennis Centre and could not play, giving Greece's No. 1 player the title.

Daniilidou didn't have as much success when she played a match Friday. She and Jasmin Woehr of Germany lost the doubles final 6-2, 6-4 to Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain.

Zvonareva will travel to Melbourne on Saturday for an MRI scan. Seeded 23rd, Zvonareva is scheduled to take on Japan's Ai Sugiyama in the first round of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park early next week.

"I could barely walk," Zvonareva said of the injury. "It was painful right away and I thought, 'Oh my God, I have to pack my bags and go home."

She said she had not thought about the Australian Open.

"I have no expectations at the moment," she said. "Hopefully it is not as bad as it looks right now."

Daniilidou had advanced to the Hobart final by beating Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals while Zvonareva defeated American qualifier Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-1.

Daniilidou will play Italian Tathiana Garbin in the first round of the Australian Open.