WAIPAHU — The USTA Pro Circuit tennis world lies somewhere between recreational players and Roger Federer — much closer to Federer. The game is much quicker and players much stronger than those you would usually find at the Patsy T. Mink CORP Tennis Complex. Pros' footwork is a work of athletic art.

Yesterday, when Igor Sijsling's relentlessness met Daniel Yoo's tenaciousness in the Honolulu Futures final, tenacity didn't have a chance. The second-seeded Sijsling handled everything Yoo chased down and just kept hitting better shots, winning 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) before a crowd of about 100 at CORP's stadium court.

"Igor beat me up really bad today," said Yoo, a 23-year-old South Korean who won last week's Mauna Lani Futures on the Big Island. He was seeded sixth at the sixth annual Honolulu Futures — the first to be played in Waipahu.

It didn't look that painful because Yoo fought so hard and tried so many strategies to slow Sijsling down. But the 21-year-old from Amsterdam ripped winners from the opening bell, bashed 18 service winners and won the first three games before Yoo knew what hit him.

"At the beginning he was just lashing the ball," Yoo said. "I was trying to figure out how I could play this match. He was serving really big. At the end I kind of got into it, but a little too late."

An elbow injury that helped drop Sijsling's world ranking from No. 274 in April of 2007 to No. 505 now was never in evidence at CORP. Yoo never even had a break point until the fourth game of the second set. He finally broke Sijsling's serve to tie that set at 4 and took his first lead in the next game.

Yoo went up 2-1 in the tiebreaker by fighting off Sijsling's first serve and miraculously returning an overhead, but then hit a volley wide and forehand long and never caught up.

"I was coming up with big shots," said Sijsling, who plays on the Dutch Davis Cup team. "There's a bit of pressure in the final and I really wanted to win. This is the biggest win I've had. ... I was just feeling it, a lot of confidence on the court."

Sijsling, who turned pro at 16, won $1,950 of the $15,000 purse, and 18 world ranking points. Yoo, who has lived in Florida since moving to the Nick Bollettieri Academy at age 12, earned 30 points in the past two weeks and figures he could move from No. 771 to the low 500s.

Both will next play Pro Circuit events in the Dominican Republic. Sijsling said his goal is the "Top 100, play a lot of tournaments and stay healthy." Yoo, who was slowed last year by a bad ankle, is also working his way back up. Hawai'i helped.

"I'm really grateful I could play in the finals," Yoo said. "Everybody is good out there. I've been beating those guys because I saw the chance and took it. ... I just want to get better in every shot."

This was the final stop on the 2008 USTA Pro Circuit, which is more than 25 years old. Last year, players from 74 countries competed for more than $3.2 million.

NOTES

In a final between University of Hawai'i teams, Melinda Wong and Anja-Vanessa Peter defeated Sophie Kobuch and Ellen Linzenbolz, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2, Saturday to win the championship of the eighth annual Island Design Center Women's Night Doubles at Kailua Racquet Club.

Kobuch won the sportsmanship award. The tournament presented a check for $5,800 to Castle Medical Women's Services for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer.