TOKYO: Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska beat rising star Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday to capture her first WTA title in more than a year and return to the world’s top 10 rankings.

The 26-year-old Radwanska turned in a near flawless display against Bencic, smashing 28 winners past the Swiss teenager to win her second Pan Pacific Open and her first WTA title since last year’s Rogers Cup in Montreal.

“I’m just so, so happy I could really play my best tennis today, and this is the first tournament I’ve won twice, so it’s definitely very special for me,” Radwanska said in her on-court interview.

“I knew I was playing one of the best players in the world, but this is the final and you just want to win, so you do whatever it takes to win every point.”

Bencic beat Radwanska in their only previous meeting, in the final at Eastbourne in June, and was chasing her fourth title this year.

The 18-year-old had been in great form all week, defeating Garbine Muguruza and Caroline Wozniacki on the way to the final, and would have cracked the top 10 herself had she won.

Radwanska is projected to climb from 13th to eighth when the new rankings are released on Monday and move to 10th place in the race for places at the WTA Finals in Singapore.

“I’m just so happy to be back in that Top 10. It’s very, very tight now,” she said.

“There are a lot of young players coming up, so many players who deserve to be Top 10, so I’m just happy I can be number eight now.

“The Asia tour is key for me to go to Singapore, so I think this week I did a great job to give myself a better chance to go back there again.”

Begu beats Sasnovich to win Korea Open

Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu ended the fairytale run from Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich to win the Korea Open on Sunday.

Begu stamped her authority on the final when she reeled off eight games in a row to clinch the first set and lead 5-0 in the second before sealing a 6-3 6-1 victory.

“I think the key today was to stay calm and make my opponent run more, and I think I was successful in those. I was also hitting the balls deep and close to the lines,” Begu said.

“I also think I was better on the important points — I wasn’t dominating every game, but I did better on the big points.”

The win gave the 25-year-old her second WTA career title after she won the Tashkent Open in 2012 and will see her ranking climb to a career-best 26th.

“I’m so happy to win my first WTA title in three years — it’s been a long time, and I’ve improved a lot, I think,” she said.

“I’ve learned a lot from many matches and many experiences, and most of all I think I’ve become much more consistent when I’m playing. I feel totally different from three years ago.”

Sasnovich had to console herself by making her first WTA final. The Belarusian had to come through the qualifiers to get into the main draw, and had never made it to a quarter-finals of a WTA event before this week.