Ninth seed Tomas Berdych powered past Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets on Sunday to win the Japan Open, his first title of the season. On the women's side, top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark battled to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia to claim her third WTA title of the year.
Berdych, who shocked American second seed Andy Roddick and third seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile on his way to the final, coasted to a surprisingly one-sided 6-1, 6-4 victory over the fifth-seeded Del Potro.
"In this condition and at this level of tennis, I think the most important thing is to... just be 100 percent on the court-then the results can come," said the 23-year-old Czech. "I think it happened to me this week and I'm very happy for that. I'm really happy to win here, especially here in Tokyo, I hope I will be here next year."
Berdych, currently ranked 27th in the world, said his goal was to finish 2008 in or near the top 10. "Since summer, I lost a lot of points and dropped in the rankings, so I'm now trying to get back. I have three more tournaments, three really big tournaments in Europe," Berdych said. "So I'm looking forward to going out there. My goal is to get back to as close as possible to the top 10, and next year I have a lot of chances to bring my ranking up," he added.
Del Potro-ranked 12th after a blistering summer during which he won four titles-appeared to be off form, taking an injury time out during the first set and another before the start of the second set.
In the first, Del Potro double-faulted on break point to lose the third game and never got another chance against Berdych, who hit a total of 11 aces. In the second, Berdych again scored an early break to move up 2-1, but Del Potro put up more of a fight, saving a match point in the ninth game. The Argentine had an opening in the 10th game, with his first three break points, but Berdych clawed back, and won when Del Potro sent a return long on the third match point.
"It's tough to say. I think he had some medical problems. I think he didn't feel well on the court. Then at the end of the second set, he was getting back, he was playing the same as he was the whole week," said Berdych.
Del Potro said he had taken some medication, but did not blame the loss on his illness, saying: "He played much better than me. I was feeling confused (by his play), but he did a great match. "After the first set I started to play a little better, but it was too late." It was Berdych's first title since winning at Halle in June last year, and his fourth overall, after victories at Palermo in 2004 and Paris in 2005. On the women's side, the 18-year-old Wozniacki added to her 2008 success, after winning in Stockholm and New Haven in August.
Kanepi, 23, struggled with her serve in the first, handing the set to the Dane. She levelled the contest in the second, but her serve again betrayed her in the third, allowing Wozniacki to quickly jump ahead 5-0 and serve it out.
"I feel amazing. I just won another tournament. It's been an incredible year. This is my first title here in Japan and I'm very happy," said a jubilant Wozniacki, ranked 16th against Kanepi's 33rd. "I think I improved a lot last year."