Osaka’s winning streak comes to an end in loss to Pliskova
Naomi Osaka's dominant run came to end on Sunday in a 6-4, 6-4 loss to fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Pan Pacific Open.
Playing in her first tournament since upsetting Serena Williams to win the U.S. Open on Sept. 8, third-seeded Osaka hadn't dropped a set previous to Sunday's final but was frustrated from the outset by the big-serving Czech player.
Pliskova came into Sunday's final having won her last four dating to the Brisbane International in January 2017 — and kept that streak alive while putting an end to Osaka's 10-match winning streak.
Pliskova needed three dramatic sets in each of her matches to reach her second final of the season.
Osaka started well with a pair of aces to win the opening game but Pliskova won her first break point of the match and took a 3-2 lead.
The 20-year-old local favorite was barely tested in her first three matches of the tournament but faced a much sterner challenge against Pliskova.
The frustration boiled over when Osaka double faulted in the ninth game of the second set to set up Pliskova's second break. The 20-year-old tossed her racket to the ground before collecting her composure, but it was too late.
Pliskova broke Osaka for a second time to go up 5-4 and then hammered her sixth ace to secure her 11th career title.
It was the second time Osaka came up short in the tournament. Two years ago, Osaka lost in the final to Caroline Wozniacki, this year's top-seeded player who was eliminated by Camila Giorgi in the second round.
Osaka has been in the spotlight both on and off the court since arriving back in Japan after her historic win in New York.
Despite being encouraged by the sold-out crowd at Tachikawa Arena, Osaka wasn't able to stage a comeback. She finished with 26 unforced errors and admitted to being exhausted after the match.
Kiki Bertens wins Korea Open in 3 sets over Ajla Tomljanovic
Kiki Bertens won her third WTA Tour singles title of the season on Sunday and denied Ajla Tomljanovic her career first with a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-2 win over the Croatian-born Australian.
The second-seeded Bertens, who won the final six games of the match, was a service break down twice in the first set, but fought back to level and then dominated the tiebreaker thanks to a strong first serve.
Bertens was behind 2-0 in the second set before coming back to take a 4-3 lead with a break, but Tomljanovic broke in the 10th game when Bertens netted a forehand, giving the Australian the second set.
Tomljanovic again took a 2-0 lead in the final set, hitting a blistering forehand to the back of the court on break point that Bertens could only watch streak past her. But the Dutch player again staged a comeback, not dropping another game.
The consolation prize for Tomljanovic, who ended Hsieh Suwei's eight-match winning streak in the semifinals, will be a big jump in the rankings.
Tomljanovic, who has lost all three WTA finals she has contested, was ranked in the 900s nearly three years ago due to persistent shoulder problems. But she has moved steadily up in the rankings and is projected to reach at least No. 44 next week.
The No. 12-ranked Bertens had dropped only one set going in to the final, while Tomljanovic needed three sets in each of her previous matches.
Thiem beats Klizan to win St. Petersburg title
Dominic Thiem breezed past Martin Klizan 6-3, 6-1 to win the St. Petersburg Open on Sunday.
Thiem held serve throughout and wrapped up the win in just 1 hour 8 minutes to take his third title of the season.
It was the big-hitting Austrian's first final since losing the French Open final to Rafael Nadal.
Thiem, ranked eighth in the world, hadn't won a hard-court title since beating Bernard Tomic at the Mexican Open in February 2016 and his previous seven finals were all on clay.
The 2012 champion in St. Petersburg, Klizan lost his unbeaten record in tour finals which had stood at six, the jointhighest on the tour.