Red-clad Djokovic wins title, Chinese hearts
SHANGHAI: Novak Djokovic wore a red shirt in his matches at the Shanghai Masters this week to connect with his Chinese fans and perhaps give himself a little boost.
“I know it’s a lucky national color, so it’s my lucky charm,” he said.
With the way he dominated, he didn’t need any luck.
Djokovic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-2, 6-4 to capture the ninth title of his impressive season in Shanghai on Sunday, a week after he triumphed at the China Open in Beijing for the sixth time in six appearances.
He didn’t drop a set at either tournament, only once being pushed to a tiebreaker, and extended his winning streak to 17 straight matches dating back to his championship run at the U.S. Open.
“This has been the best two weeks of my life, my career,” the top-ranked Serb said. “Energywise, I was great. I didn’t get tired. I always had plenty of intensity, concentration, a high performance level from the first match in Beijing to today’s match.”
PAVLYUCHENKOVA WINS LINZ, AUSTRIA: Russian seventh seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won her first title of 2015 and eighth of her career when she defeated unseeded German Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-4, 6-3 in the Linz WTA final. With two indoor titles in 2014 in Paris and Moscow, the 24-year-old this week won her 15th straight indoor match during the tournament’s 25th anniversary.
RADWANSKA IN FINALE BEIJING: Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska secured a slot in the WTA Finals with a straight-sets victory in the final of China’s Tianjin Open on Sunday.
The 6-1, 6-2 win by the world number six over the much lower ranked Montenegrin Danka Kovinic ensures her place at the WTA Finals in Singapore next month.