Unseeded Krajicek downs Rogers for Red Rock Pro Open title

Perhaps Michaella Krajicek's tennis career will have a happy ending after all.

The 26-year-old veteran's future was in jeopardy in 2012 after undergoing a fourth knee surgery. With the pain still lingering, the Netherlands native wasn't sure she would ever regain the form she had as a teenager in 2008 when she was ranked No. 30 in the world.

But Krajicek never gave up and her game is coming back. She won last week in Albuquerque, N.M., and she followed that up with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Shelby Rogers in Sunday's singles championship of the $50,000 Red Rock Pro Open women's tennis tournament at Red Rock Country Club.

"It's been a long road back," Krajicek said after picking up the winner's check of $7,600. "But I always believed I could come back, and winning these two tournaments is giving me a lot of confidence."

Krajicek came to Las Vegas ranked No. 435 in the world by the WTA. She was unseeded as well. But she fought her way through the draw, then took care of Rogers with little problem.

Not even two rain delays totaling 90 minutes could slow her down Sunday. With a gusting wind whipping through Red Rock's Stadium Court, it was Krajicek, not Rogers, who better handled the elements.

"I've been a little lucky the last couple of weeks," said Krajicek, who has won 13 straight matches. "But I'm healthy now and I don't even think about my knee anymore. I just go out and play."

Her game was in fine form in the final. She had Rogers on the defensive thanks to a powerful serve, and she kept the points short. She also displayed a wicked forehand return that produced several winners.

"My serve is my best weapon," Krajicek said. "Fortunately, I served well today."

Conversely, Rogers, who was the runner-up in 2012 at the Party Rock Open at the Darling Tennis Center, struggled with her serve. She never found a rhythm and her goal of getting Krajicek to run all over the court in an effort to wear her down never materialized.

"I knew what I wanted to do but I could never get it going," said Rogers, the tourney's No. 7 seed. "It was just one of those days."

Krajicek, who plans to play a couple more weeks before calling it a year, said she hopes to keep the momentum going. She married German tennis player Martin Emmrich, who also is her coach, in July. With her body healthy and her mind right, Krajicek hopes 2016 will be a big year.

"I may have been through a lot but I still think I have a lot of good tennis left in me," she said.

In the doubles championship, Americans Nicole Gibbs and Julia Boserup defeated fellow American Sanaz Marand and Paula Cristina Goncalves of Brazil 6-3, 6-4 to pick up a check of $1,393 apiece.

Like Krajicek and Rogers, Gibbs and Boserup had to endure rain delays. But with Gibbs' powerful groundstrokes and Boserup's excellent play at the net, they combined to handle Marand and Goncalves, the No. 1 seed in doubles who had battled back from an 0-3 second-set deficit to pull even, only to drop three of the final four games and the match.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.