Bammer loses last career match to fellow Austrian

BAD GASTEIN, Austria - Sybille Bammer lost the final match of her career, beaten 6-2, 6-1 by fellow Austrian Yvonne Meusburger on Thursday in the second round of the Gastein Ladies. The 31-year-old Bammer reached a career-high No. 19 ranking in 2007. She retired from professional tennis after losing in the first round at Wimbledon last month but then decided to play her final tournament at the Austrian clay-court event. A two-time tour winner, she never fared well in Austrian WTA events. "I will take a break now and enjoy some time off with my family," said Bammer, who has a 9-year-old daughter. "I won't regret my decision. ... A comeback like Thomas Muster is having won't happen with me." Story continues below ↓ advertisement | your ad here Bammer broke Meusburger in the opening game but immediately lost her own serve and again at 2-3 down. From then on, Meusburger dominated. "We had a lot of good rallies but Yvonne just played better," Bammer said. Meusburger, 2007 finalist, advances to the quarterfinals against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, who defeated Sandra Zahlavova of Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2. Martinez Sanchez also reached the quarterfinals last week in Bastad, Sweden. Dia Evtimova of Bulgaria rallied past Austrian wild card Nikola Hofmanova 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to make the quarterfinals for the first time. The 239th-ranked Evtimova, who won two titles on the lower-ranked ITF circuit this year, next plays Patricia Mayr-Archleitner of Austria, who defeated Petra Martic of Croatia 6-1, 6-4.