Monday 9 October 2017 15:07, UK
David Goffin defeated Adrian Mannarino in straight sets in the Japan Open final to secure his second successive ATP World Tour title.
The Belgian fourth seed, who won the Shenzhen Open last week, proved too strong for his French opponent to seal the title 6-3 7-5 and extend his match-winning run to nine matches.
The in-form 26-year-old, who was a runner-up last year in Tokyo, moves to eighth in the ATP Race to London with the opportunity to improve his chances of participation at the season-ending tournament with a good showing at this week's Shanghai Masters, live on Sky Sports.
Goffin, who will feature for Belgium in next month's Davis Cup final, was in control from the start of the encounter securing a break to lead 3-1 against the world No 31 Mannarino before maintaining this advantage thanks to some dominant serving to close out the opening set.
Mannarino, who shocked top-seeded Marin Cilic in the semi-finals, initially appeared set to take the final into a deciding third set when he broke the Belgian's serve to lead 4-2 in the second set only for the world No 11 to secure the break back immediately.
A further break of serve by Goffin in the 11th game of the second set before a service hold to love proved enough to land a fourth career title and a 49th match victory in 2017.
"It's a really special trophy for me, as I won the tournament last week and now have again today," said Goffin. "It's a special feeling at a tournament I like. I have a lot of happy memories in Tokyo. It's difficult to describe my feelings.
"It's important for me to stay fresh physically and mentally with potentially the ATP Finals ahead and then playing for Belgium in the Davis Cup final. I am ready fight and I want to keep winning."
Sky Sports Tennis will have all the action from the ATP Shanghai Masters before the action heads to Paris. The Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and season-ending extravaganza World Tour Finals at London's O2 in November end another memorable year which will covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs and updates as the season reaches its climax.
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