Caroline Wozniacki retains Pan Pacific Open crown and extends her remarkable WTA winning run
Victory brought former World No 1 Wozniacki the 26th title of her career while, in Seoul, Jelena Ostapenko won her first title since storming to an unlikely victory at the French Open
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Your support makes all the difference.Caroline Wozniacki defended her Pan Pacific Open crown on Sunday, beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0 7-5 in Tokyo to ensure she has won at least one WTA tournament every year since 2008..
The 27-year-old has been in good form all season, reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open back in June, but had lost all six of her previous finals this year.
But the outcome of this final was never in doubt, with Wozniacki taking the first set in just 22 minutes before holding her nerve in the second, claiming her 26th career title in the process. This is the third time Wozniacki has won the tournament, after previous successes last year and back in 2010.
“This was my seventh final of the year — it gets harder to get that last win,” said the former World No 1, who currently sits sixth in the world rankings.
“I've been putting myself in a position to win all year. It was really important for me to stay focused and positive.
“The court suits my game. She plays powerfully so it was important for me to make her move around early on. In the first set everything was going my way. In the second set she served better, so it was tricky for me to break.”
Wozniacki dismantled the current World No 1 and reigning Wimbledon champion Garbiñe Muguruza 6-2 6-2 in the semi-finals and appeared to be on course for another crushing victory in Japan on Sunday.
But Pavlyuchenkova improved in the second set, which went with serve until the twelfth and final game, with Wozniacki wrapping things up on her third match point.
“I was really disappointed in the first three games,” said the Russian, who enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open earlier this season.
“I felt I was a bit unlucky and really believe if I had turned those points round and won the games, it may have been a different match. I was a little down on myself and missed more than I should.
“It's disappointing to lose no matter which round it is, even more disappointing in the final. I felt a little flat due to the previous matches. I didn't have so much energy left.”
Meanwhile, French Open champion Jeļena Ostapenko won her first tournament as a top 10 player, fighting back from a set down to beat Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-7(5) 6-1 6-4 in the WTA Korea Open final.
“I'm really happy to win my second title here and in my career. I enjoyed playing here, and to also see so many Latvian flags is amazing," Ostapenko said on-court after her first tournament win since her stunning success at Roland-Garros.
“It's my first time in Korea. I enjoyed my time here and hopefully, I can be back next year and win some more titles here.”
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