TORONTO: Top-seeded Novak Djokovic won his second straight Rogers Cup title and third overall, beating Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday night.
The Serbian star, also the tournament winner in 2007, won for the first time since the ATP Masters stop in Miami four months back.
Djokovic was coming off a third-place finish in the Olympics.
“The losses I had in the Olympic Games gave me even more desire to come here and perform my best and try to win a title,” Djokovic said. “I am very happy to be in this position. I truly did not expect to win this tournament after the emotional losses in the Olympics.
“I really took it hard and tried to bounce back and recover. And I’ve done great, I have to say.”
Gasquet, the 14th-seed Frenchman, was making his first Masters 1000 finals appearance since losing to Roger Federer in Toronto in 2006.
“It was a long time since I play a final at this kind of tournament,” Gasquet said. “It’s tough when you have Djokovic in front of you and are not playing your best tennis. It’s very difficult. He played much better than me for sure.”
The final was played in clear conditions at Rexall Center after a week of frustrating rain disruptions. Djokovic, among other players, was forced to play twice Friday and had his semifinal against countryman Janko Tipsarevic delayed twice and pushed into late Saturday night.
“The rain delay and interruptions weren’t making my life easy that’s for sure,” Djokovic said.
His patience was tested, and he went as far as to suggest Rogers Cup organizers consider some kind of cover for the stadium court. However, in the likely scenario they don’t listen, it won’t deter Djokovic from returning to defend his title.
“I will be coming back, definitely,” he said. “That was just a suggestion from a player’s perspective considering the last couple of days.”
American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, fresh off their Olympic gold medal, won the doubles title with a 6-1, 4-6 (12-10) victory over Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez.
Li Na, Petra Kvitova
reach Montreal final
In Montreal, 10th-seeded Li Na rallied to beat 16th-seeded Lucie Safarova 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday to advance to the final in the WTA Rogers Cup.
Li, from China, will face fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova, a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 winner over seventh-seeded Caroline Wozniacki. The final is Monday.
Safarova led 5-1 in the final set, before Li rallied to win the error-filled match.
“There was nothing on my mind, you couldn’t think too much on the court,” said Li, the 2011 French Open champion. “I just told myself to play point by point, play the ball back in the court and see how it’s going.
“This is tennis. You put the ball back in the court, and over the net. It looks easy, but sometimes I couldn’t do it.”
The 30-year-old Li has a six-match winning streak against Safarova dating to 2009.
“Closing a match is always a little bit of a nervous moment,” Safarova said. “I was thinking that she made a lot of mistakes in the games before, and I just didn’t put enough pressure and she used that situation to turn it over. Then she started serving well and playing better and it just slipped away.”
Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, dominated the final two sets of a rain-interrupted semifinal.
The 22-year-old Czech has won in Europe, Asia and Australia, but has yet to take a WTA title on North America soil. She said it might have to do with her asthma.
“I have trouble to breathe,” she said. “This week it wasn’t too bad. So maybe I’m lucky. But I think it’s great to know that I can play here.”
