Djokovic, Muguruza savor titles
Print Edition
WORLD No. 1 Novak Djokovic continued his recent dominance over Rafael Nadal when he beat the Spaniard in the final of the China Open to win the tournament for the sixth time in Beijing last night.
The Serbian showed no mercy against the Spaniard, who was hampered by a foot problem in the second set, as he cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
“I played a great tournament overall and continued playing well today,” Djokovic said at the trophy presentation.
“This definitely has been my most successful tournament in my career. I have won the Australian Open five times but Beijing has been a lucky place for me.
“I keep on coming back here and have very positive memories.”
Djokovic has now beaten Nadal in seven of their last eight meetings, dating back to the 2013 China Open, and is on the verge of levelling their head-to-head record. The pair have played each other 45 times with Nadal, who has struggled with his form and niggling injuries in the past year, hanging on to a 23-22 advantage.
The world No. 8 took a medical time-out early in the second set when he hurt his right ankle but continued on, despite appearing to be in discomfort.
“I hope Rafa’s foot is fine and he’s able to play next week (in Shanghai),” Djokovic said. “It’s always a pleasure to play against him on a big stage.”
Djokovic has never been beaten in Beijing, winning 29 matches in a row, and six titles in total. The 28-year-old has now 56 career titles, eight of them this year, including the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open grand slam crowns.
“I have to say congratulations to Novak, he’s having one of the best seasons in the history of our sport,” Nadal said.
“For me, it’s also been a very positive week. I’ve been improving every single match and all the matches are good practice for me and especially the victories (because they) are a lot of positive energy for next year.”
In the women’s final, Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza captured her second career WTA Tour title, rallying in both sets to defeat Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky 7-5, 6-4.
Muguruza trailed 2-5 in the opening set before winning five straight games to clinch it, then went down an early break in the second set before coming back yet again.
The Spaniard will rise to a career-high ranking of No. 4 today, while Bacsinszky will break into the top 10 for the first time.
“Definitely it’s a big achievement. I think, you know, to see you are improving, also on the tennis side, but in the rankings, it’s that moment when there’s only three more in front of me,” she said, smiling. “Three more. Three more.”
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