BEIJING: Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka triumphed in Beijing yesterday, winning their respective China Open finals with ease in straight sets.
World number two Djokovic, 25, overcame Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to maintain his unbeaten record at the ATP 500 tournament and take the winner’s prize of $530,570.
The Serb has won the China Open every time he has entered, his previous titles coming in 2009 and 2010 before he missed last year because of injury, and his record at the tournament now stands at 14-0.
He is pressing to beat Roger Federer to the year-end number one spot in the world rankings and said he was “delighted” at his latest triumph.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win this trophy in the new stadium,” he said of the capital’s National Tennis Stadium, which had yet to be built the last time he won in Beijing.
“The first set was really even, and maybe a couple of points decided the winner there,” Djokovic, seeded number one, said.
“We served well when we needed to, and I think the realistic thing to expect for the first set was tie break. “I managed to hold my nerves in the end. He made the double fault that probably cost him the set.
“Then when you’re getting to the second set with the set advantage, mentally it is much more encouraging for you and then you try to play on that confidence run that you have,” he added.
“I made that early break in the second and after that I felt much more comfortable on the court.”
In celebration Djokovic delighted fans with a rendition of the famed horse-riding dance from South Korean pop hit “Gangnam Style”, fulfilling a promise made earlier in the week to do so if he won the tournament.
A disappointed Tsonga admitted afterwards he had let an opportunity slip early in the tie.
World number one Azarenka thrashed second seed Sharapova of Russia in straight sets to win the $4.8m women’s event. The Belarusian dispatched Sharapova, ranked number two in the world, 6-3, 6-1, in the last Premier Mandatory event of the women’s calendar. Azarenka, 23, collected the winner’s prize of $848,000 and became the first player ever to win two Premier Mandatory tournaments in one year.AFP
