Japan's Kimiko Date Krumm has failed in her bid to become the oldest-ever winner of a WTA Tour event, losing in the final of the Japan Open to Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn.
Date Krumm, who at 40 would have beaten the record set by Billie Jean King who won a tournament in Birmingham, England, aged 39 years, seven months and 23 days, was defeated 7-5 6-7 6-1 in a marathon match lasting over three hours.
The Osaka victory gave 33-year-old Tanasugarn her fourth career title, following her victories in 2008 and 2009 at 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands and in 2003 in Hyderabad, India.
Date Krumm, who had beaten top seed Samantha Stosur and third seed Shahar Peer en route to the final, told the official WTA Tour website: "I just tried my best and fought as hard as I could.
"Nobody wants to lose, so I tried everything. Now I will play some ITF events followed by the Asian Games -- so I will be continuing to play tennis for the rest of the year."
Meanwhile, former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic claimed her first title in two years after defeating Patty Schnyder to win the Austrian Open in Linz.
The seventh-seeded Serb, who had failed to win a tournament since she triumphed at the same event in 2008, proved a class above the Swiss to claim a 6-1 6-2 win in just 47 minutes.
Schnyder has also now gone two years without a tournament victory -- and this defeat means she has now lost three finals in Linz following reverses in 2005 and 2007.
