Melbourne: Paraguay surprised all with their seven-stroke victory on their debut in the Women's World Cup of Golf on Sunday, making a tremendous impact for a country with only six golf courses.

Julieta Granada and Celeste Troche sealed a wire-to-wire victory with a seven under par 65 in the final betterball matches for a total of nine under par.

"Day one was key," said the 20-year-old Granada.
 

"We didn't expect a four-shot lead at only five under then, but it made a big difference because the alternate shot is such a tough format, and then everybody scores low in the betterball," he said.

The United States team of Juli Inkster and Pat Hurst finished second on two under with a closing 67.

 Korea's Kim Young and Shin Ji-Yai yook third place on one under, also with a 67.

Granada and Troche did not get off to the best of starts when they both three-putted the first for a bogey.

But Granada soon found her form, making the birdies at holes three, five, six, eight and 11, while Troche birdied 10, chipped in for birdie on 17 and then holed a five-footer for birdie at the last.

"That chip-in on 17 made us realise that this wasn't just a dream but that it was actually happening," said Troche.

As a team, the two players could not be further apart in their careers at the moment.

Granada is a rising star on the LPGA Tour and came into this event having claimed the richest first prize in women's golf when she won the one million dollars ADT Championship.

"I like winning. I'm enjoying going to the press conferences, and the cheques are nice too," said the bubbly Granada, whose mother caddied for her this week.

"She gets a good percentage," she said.

Troche, on the other hand, arrived in South Africa unsure of her future following a poor 2006 in which she campaigned on the Futures Tour and enjoyed only a few starts on the LPGA Tour, but with little success.

"To win this is a great feeling because I have been struggling. I've been wondering what I should do with my life and whether I should continue playing golf, and this week gave me the answer," she said.

Paraguay started the day with a four-stroke lead but lost a shot at the very first hole, a par-5, where the best they could do was a bogey six.

But the 20-year-old Granada and the 25-year-old Troche played brilliant golf after that with eight birdies in the next 17 holes.

At the start of the tournament Paraguay were 20-1 outsiders, but they hardly put a foot wrong in the individual medal on day one, the foursomes on day two, and the closing session of betterball.

South Africa finished a disappointing 16th on 13 over par despite a solid 66 in the betterball. But it was a slow start in the opening singles which led to their worst finish in three years in this event.

"We tried a bit too hard on the first day. We should have just stayed steady. But we really came back on the final day," said Laurette Maritz.

Clijsters and three-time champion Martina Hingis on Monday set up a mouth-watering rematch of last year s quarter-final clash between the two veterans.

The players, both adored by the Melbourne Park crowd, will go back to the future as they reprise their 2006 match, which the Belgian won 6-3,2-6,6-4 before retiring hurt in her semi against eventual champion Amelie Mauresmo.

Clijsters, 23,also dumped the Swiss Miss out of the French Open quarters last year.
They both said they were relishing the prospect of again locking horns on Rod Laver Arena.

"It always a pleasure to play against her, she s such a great champion," said fourth seed Clijsters, who thumped Slovak 15th seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-1,7-5 and is the bookie s pick to win the tournament.

"We get along really well on and off the court. When we get on the court we try to play our best tennis but once we get off the court and back into the locker room we have a joke about everything. That s the way it should be," he said.

"We re professionals and it s great to see her doing well again," he said.

The circumstances of this year s meeting will be vastly different to 2006,when five-time Grand Slam champion Hingis was on the comeback trail after retiring for three years in late 2002 following a string of injuries.

This year she has re-established herself as a top 10 player and is the tournament sixth seed, having proved her smart technique can be effective against the modern games power hitters.

"When you play against Martina, she always comes up with some unbelievable shots that you don t expect. With her, you always have to be ready to go the other way," Clijsters said.

"That s what makes it so fun, it s very challenging. You have to go out there and fight for every point," she said.

Now, it is Clijsters who is on the verge of retirement after deciding she has suffered enough injuries and is ready to marry mid-year then leave tennis at the end of the season to settle down.

The pair have each won four of their eight meetings but Hingis wins all came before her 2003 break from the game, when she was at the height of her powers and Clijsters was an emerging talent.

Hingis said the match would be a contrast of styles.

"That s pretty obvious," she said.

"The difference is I m more of a counterpuncher, she s the more offensive player," she said.

The world number seven qualified for the quarter-final after coming back 4-6,6-3,6-0 against China s Li Na but said last s year s match showed she could not afford a similar slow start against Clijsters.

"In the last year we had a great match here. I was able to fight back. It was a quite slow start," she said.

"I know I have to come out a hundred percent and be ready from the beginning, otherwise I ll be run over. That s the key. I have a day rest tomorrow  just practice, sleep well, give myself the best shot," she said.