Radwanska beats Bencic to win first title in over a year
TOKYO, September 27
Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska beat rising star Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-2 in the final of the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday to capture her first WTA title in more than a year and return to the world’s top 10 rankings.
The 26-year-old Radwanska turned in a near flawless display against Bencic, smashing 28 winners past the Swiss teenager to win her second Pan Pacific Open and her first WTA title since last year’s Rogers Cup in Montreal.
“I’m just so happy I could really play my best tennis today, and this is the first tournament I’ve won twice, so it’s definitely very special for me,” Radwanska said.
“I knew I was playing one of the best players in the world, but this is the final and you just want to win, so you do whatever it takes to win every point.”
Bencic beat Radwanska in their only previous meeting, in the final at Eastbourne in June, and was chasing her fourth title this year.
The 18-year-old had been in great form all week, defeating Garbine Muguruza and Caroline Wozniacki on the way to the final, and would have cracked the top 10 herself had she won.
Radwanska is projected to climb from 13th to eighth when the new rankings are released on Monday and move to 10th place in the race for places at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
“I’m just so happy to be back in that top 10. It’s very, very tight now,” she said.
“There are a lot of young players coming up, so many players who deserve to be top 10, so I’m just happy I can be number eight now.”
Raonic ends 2015 title drought
Moscow: Canada’s Milos Raonic boosted his chances of qualifying for the lucrative ATP World Tour Finals after capturing his first title of the season with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 win over Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the final of the St. Petersburg Open on Sunday.
The world No. 9 fired down 22 aces to subdue Sousa for the third time in as many meetings to claim his first title since August 2014. — Reuters
Tsonga claims 12th career title
Paris: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Gilles Simon 7-6(5) 1-6 6-2 in an all-French final at the Moselle Open to claim his 12th ATP title on Sunday. The third-seeded Tsonga eventually had too much power for his second-seeded opponent in a rematch of the 2013 final won by Simon. “I am very happy, it was a big first set,” said Tsonga. “It’s always tricky to play against Gilles, the ball always comes back.”
