Osaka champ at China Open
BEIJING — A surging Naomi Osaka found further redemption for a string of disappointing performances over the summer with her second consecutive title in Asia at the China Open on Sunday.
Osaka bounced back from a set down to Ash Barty, cruising through the final two sets to defeat the top-seeded Australian 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and accomplish her goal of returning to winning form on the tour’s Asian leg.
The two-time Grand Slam champion’s latest victory follows another last month at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in her birthplace of Osaka, Japan. That was her first singles title since the Australian Open in January.
“Honestly, all I was thinking about was how much I wanted to win, so that made me very emotional,” the fourth-ranked Osaka said after Sunday’s match. “In the second set I just tried to rationalize everything and then in the third set just continue what I was doing.”
Japan’s most dominant player came into the tour’s swing through Asia determined to make a statement after what she has called an on-and-off year that included a string of dismal performances in Europe and America.
“For me, this was my goal. After I lost in the U.S. Open … I really meditated on it. It just feels like I accomplished what I set out to do,” the 21-year-old Osaka said.
In the men’s final, top-seeded Dominic Thiem beat Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Thiem, No. 5 in the ATP rankings, secured his fourth title in a season when the 26-year-old Austrian has defeated both Roger Federer and top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who have a combined 36 Grand Slam singles titles.
A two-time French Open finalist who has never been past the quarterfinals at the other three majors, Thiem called Sunday’s match against the third-seeded Tsitsipas one of the best of his career and said his early departure from last month’s U.S. Open had left him “fresher than ever” for the later part of the season.
Djokovic wins in Japan
TOKYO — Novak Djokovic couldn’t have asked for a better tournament debut in Tokyo.
Playing in the Japanese capital for the first time, Djokovic beat Australian qualifier John Millman 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Japan Open on Sunday, marking the 10th time the 32-year-old Serb has lifted a trophy on his main draw debut at a tour-level event.
He did not drop a set in his five matches at Ariake Colosseum, with the closest set, 7-5, coming against home favorite Go Soeda in the second round. In his final three matches, against fifth-seeded Lucas Pouille, third-seeded David Goffin and Millman — all of whom have made a Grand Slam quarterfinal — Djokovic lost a total of 15 games.
“There are not many negatives here that I can point out,” Djokovic said, “so I’m going to Shanghai with great confidence and hope I can finish the year in style.”
Djokovic retired with a left-shoulder injury during his fourth-round match against Stan Wawrinka at the U.S. Open but showed no lingering effects in Tokyo. Now he’s making a push to finish a year No. 1 for the sixth time, which would tie the record held by Pete Sampras.