Novak Djokovic won the China Open with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Marin Cilic, and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia defeated Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-4 in the women’s final on Sunday.
The second-seeded Serb broke Cilic’s serve in the sixth game and again in the eighth to take the first set.
The second set was much tighter, with each breaking the other’s serve three times to force the tiebreak. But Cilic then struggled, and his return at 6-4 went wide, handing Djokovic the win.
The sixth-seeded Kuznetsova needed just 1 hour, 20 minutes to complete her victory.
The third-ranked Djokovic’s path to the title was eased by Cilic’s upset of top-seeded Rafael Nadal in Saturday’s semifinal. The rain delay also appeared to have been a factor, allowing Djokovic time to regroup.
Kuznetsova has already qualified for the season-ending WTA Tour Championship in Doha at the end of the month, and will spend some time in Moscow practicing before arriving in the Persian Gulf a to acclimatize to the conditions.
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