Agnieszka Radwanska clinched her 15th career and second title at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo by beating 18-year-old Swiss rising star Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-2. The Polish star has ended her title drought, winning her first title since the 2014 Rogers Cup in Montreal.
Radwanska, who had already triumphed in Tokyo in 2011, has taken her revenge against Bencic who beat the Pole last June in Eastbourne on grass.
With her win in the Japanese capital Radwanska will return to the top 10 moving up to world number 7 in the WTA Ranking and number 9 in the Race to the Singapore finals.
Bencic saved two break point chances in the second game of the opening set with an ace and a down the line forehand. Radwanska got the first break of the match to 15 in the fourth game as Bencic made three backhand errors. Radwanska held serve to love at 4-2 before breaking again on the second set point with a down the line backhand.
Radwanska clinched her third consecutive break to 30 at the start of the second set. Bencic earned the first break point chance in the next game, but Radwanska saved it. The young Swiss player went down 15-40 on her service game in the fourth game, but she forced the game to deuce before dropping her serve as she sent a backhand unforced error into the net.
At 2-6 0-4 Bencic broke serve for the first time in the match with her backhand passing shot before holding her serve to 15 in the next game for 2-4, after dropping four consecutive service games. Radwanska held her service game after recovering from 0-30 down. Radwanska fought back from 0-40 on Bencic’s service game to break serve in the final game for 6-2 after 1 hour and 27 minutes.
A delighted Radwanska, who hit 26 winners to 15 unforced errors, spoke of her surprise about the straightforward score-line.
“This is the first tournament I have won twice, so it’s very special for me. I really didn’t expect that kind of score against Belinda. She’s playing so well. I am never going to be a powerful player, even if I spend the whole day in the gym”, said Radwanska.
After reaching her fourth final of the year Bencic will improve her ranking to World 14 in the WTA Ranking and 12 in the Race.
“Agnieszka made me run a lot and my serves were so slow today because, after yesterday, I couldn’t do anything with my legs anymore, ‘In the second set I tried to go for my shots more, even it meant making more mistakes. I still have a lot to learn to play like her, she’s so smart.”, said Bencic
