India's Sania Mirza fell at the last hurdle, losing to China's Na Li in the final of the Asian Tennis championships at the Tashkent Tennis Centre on Sunday.
The 17-year-old Indian seventh seed failed to reproduce the form she displayed right through the tournament and lost 2-6, 1-6 in a little under an hour.
Chinese Taipei's top seed Yeu Tzuoo Wang crowned himself the men's singles champion when he beat Pakistan's Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi 6-3, 7-6(5) in the final.
The victories earned both Na Li (WTA 192) and Wang (ATP 168) wild cards for the Australian Open 2005 and US $7200 in prize-money each.
Sania was never allowed to settle into a rhythm by the Chinese, who packed power into her strokes and never lapsed in concentration as he went on to pick her fifth title of the year.
"I didn't sleep the whole of last night thinking about this match. I knew that Sania was going to hit the ball really hard to turn on the pressure, so I mentally prepared for it and it really helped," Na Li said after her triumph.
When she plays the Australian Open next year, Li will be making her first ever appearance in a Grand Slam women's main draw event.
"She played super tennis today. I just couldn't read where she was going to hit; she disguised it very well. She never allowed me to do much," Sania said after the match.
For Wang, the final turned out to be just another day at office. The 19-year old chipped away quietly at Qureshi's patience, slowing things down and forcing the Pakistani to risk the big shot on tough points.
Qureshi played his natural serve and volley game and came up with flashes of brilliance off his backhand down the line but Wang stayed cool and won the match with his mind.
Wang has acquired a reputation on the tour for being a tough customer who keeps a low profile. Proof of his talent and mental strength were on display this year at Wimbledon too when he gave Andy Roddick some anxious moments in a tight three-setter.
Today, Wang kept his returns low, forced Qureshi to volley up and toyed around from the baseline without hurrying up any point.
It all fell in place and Wang wrapped it up in the second set tie-break just when Qureshi was threatening to stretch the match to the third.
The 205-ranked Qureshi was playing his first tournament here after a six-week injury layoff and did well to get this far in the tournament.
"It's not for the prize-money that I came here. I very badly wanted to win that wild card,'' said a disappointed Qureshi.
Wang, of course, was on a high.
"It's the third time I'm coming to this tournament and I've got lucky. I'm really looking forward to the Aussie Open. It's a real honour," he said.
On the sidelines of the tournament, the Asian Tennis Federation decided to award Uzbekistan Tennis Federation the mandate to host the Asian Championships for the next three years.
More from rediff