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02-12-2006, 11:07 PM
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Amelie Mauresmo overcome poor play early on to extend her winning streak to 11 matches.

PARIS (AP) -- Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo won her second consecutive title of 2006, defeating Mary Pierce 6-1, 7-6 (2) Sunday in an all-French final at the Gaz de France.

The top-seeded Mauresmo, ranked No. 2, was coming off a victory at the year's first major two weeks ago. She also beat Pierce in the final of the WTA Tour Championships in November.

Mauresmo overcome poor play early on to extend her winning streak to 11 matches. She leads Pierce 6-4 in head-to-head matches.

"Somehow, I won the right to make errors," Mauresmo said. "It's an extraordinary luxury. I now have more lucidity about opportunities and key moments."

At 2-1 in the tiebreak, Pierce felt pain in her right leg.

"After that point, I couldn't run anymore," she said.

She said the injury is an inflamed tendon, hampering her service returns. Pierce will see her doctor Monday to determine if she can play this week in Antwerp, Belgium.

"The pain started two days before the start of the Australian Open. I took some anti-inflammatory medicine," she said. "But I felt the pain again just before this tournament."

Pierce, seeded second, dictated the early baseline exchanges with powerful forehands. But she committed too many unforced errors and Mauresmo hit clutch shots for three breaks in the first set. Mauresmo broke in the third game with a lob to lead 2-1 and won the next four games to close the set.

"I defended most of the time, trying to seize the few opportunities I had," Mauresmo said.

Down 3-0 in the second set, Pierce broke in the fifth game and held serve to make it 3-3. But Mauresmo gained a mini-break in the tiebreaker on a smash and converted her first match point.

"I committed many errors at the beginning of the match," Pierce said. "I played a bit better in the second set. I made fewer mistakes and the match became tighter."

Associated Press.