Naomi Osaka wins China Open with victory over Ash Barty
Japanese fights back from a set down to prevail
Beijing: Japan’s Naomi Osaka fought back from a set down to beat Australian world number one Ash Barty 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the China Open in Beijing on Sunday.
It was world No. 4 Osaka’s second title in the Asian swing after clinching the Pan Pacific Open in Japan last month and she is yet to lose a match since her fourth-round exit at the US Open, extending her run to 10 victories.
In a battle between two of the year’s Grand Slam champions, Australian Open winner Osaka broke the reigning French Open champion Barty three times and dropped serve only once in the encounter.
“Basically I was telling myself to keep fighting even though my attitude was really trash,” Osaka said.
“I feel like I wasn’t that calm here. I threw my racket, like, once every match. I really wanted to win here, I felt like I had something to prove.”
In the men's draw in China, top seed Dominic Thiem recovered from a set down to win the final on Sunday and claim the 15th singles title of his career.
The Austrian defeated Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in Beijing.
Thiem, 26, beat former world No. 1 Andy Murray on the way to the title and had also booked his spot in the prestigious season-ending ATP Finals.
The fifth-ranked Thiem strolled to the crown in the deciding set against Tsitsipas, who at 21 is a rising star of men's tennis.