Berdych bags Tokyo title

Del Potro's hot run of form comes to shuddering halt

Last updated: 5th October 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Berdych bags Tokyo title

Berdych: first title of the season

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Tomas Berdych claimed his fourth ATP Tour title with a 6-1 6-4 demolition of Juan Martin Del Potro in the Japan Open final.

The Czech ninth seed turned the form book upside down to notch a surprisingly comfortable win over Del Potro, who came into the match on a run of 29 wins in his last 30 matches and chasing his fifth title of the season.

Berdych raced through the opening set in just 22 minutes, during which Del Potro was warned for taking too long on a lavatory break after the fifth game.

The Argentinean's day took a further turn for the worse when a stomach injury forced him to call a medical time out after surrendering the first set.

Berdych broke again early in the second set and held his nerve to close out the result, and a $135,000 winner's cheque, in the 10th game.

Del Potro's performance, however, sees him climb to ninth in the race for next month's lucrative eight-man Shanghai Masters Cup.

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have already qualified for the eight-man event, but the other four places remain up for grabs.

In the lower tier WTA Japan Open, top seed Caroline Wozniacki saw off fifth seed Kaia Kanepi 6-2 3-6 6-1 in the final.

The 18-year-old Dane earned $28,000 for her third title of the season as she capitalised on the erratic serving of her Estonian opponent.

Wozniacki stormed into a 4-0 lead before clinching the opening set but Kanepi hit back strongly, finding her range in the second set and breaking the Dane in the seventh game to level the match.

But her serving woes returned with a vengeance in the decider, Wozniacki able to rack up five games in succession before Kanepi got on the scoreboard.

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