BEIJING, China - After a rainy Sunday, Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva took the court for the China Open final on Monday night, and it was Wozniacki who prevailed, winning her sixth title of the year, 63 36 63.
Wozniacki, the No.1 seed at the Premier-level tournament, had lost three of her five previous meetings with the No.2-seeded Zvonareva, including their most recent encounter in the semifinals of the US Open. This one was a battle but she came through in the end, getting the lone break of the third set to go up 2-0 and holding her serve until it was over, never facing another break point and holding at love to close out the two-hour, four-minute championship win.
"I thought I played a really, really good match. Vera was playing really well too," Wozniacki said. "Everything is working for me at the moment. I've got to believe I can beat anyone. I feel in great shape and I'm looking forward to Doha."
Wozniacki had never won a match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open or the China Open before this year, going 0-2 in Tokyo and 0-3 in Beijing; now she has both titles in her pocket in back-to-back weeks. She also becomes the 20th No.1 player in Tour history this week, replacing an injured Serena Williams.
"I came here wanting to do a good result. I knew I could become No.1 if I won a few rounds," Wozniacki said. "I'm very happy how everything has turned out."
The victory was Wozniacki's 59th of the year, which leads the Tour. Zvonareva is third for match wins this year with 46 (second place goes to Flavia Pennetta, who has 49). Wozniacki also leads the Tour for most titles this year with six (Ponte Vedra Beach, Copenhagen, Montréal, New Haven, Tokyo and Beijing); next-highest for titles is Kim Clijsters, who has four (including the US Open).
Zvonareva's impressive results, which include finals this year at Wimbledon and the US Open, also reward her on the rankings this week - she will rise from No.4 to No.3, a new career-high. Venus Williams goes from No.3 to No.4.
"Rankings don't matter too much to me, because I knew if I play well I'll win matches and the ranking will come," Zvonareva said. "If I go on court and think about everything but my game, I won't be able to win any match and my ranking wouldn't be there. I just think about what I have to do on the court to win."
