Wozniacki, Seppi reign in Moscow

MOSCOW: Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki claimed her 20th career title by beating top seed Samantha Stosur 6-2 4-6 7-5 in a thrilling Kremlin Cup tennis final yesterday.
Italian second seed Andreas Seppi came from behind to beat Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 3-6 7-6 6-3 in the men’s final.
Bellucci, seeded fourth, twice served for the match in the second set, but Seppi fought back to force a tiebreak.
The world number 25 then secured a key break midway through the final set before claiming his second title of the year.
The third-seeded Wozniacki trailed Stosur 1-3 in the third set but recovered her poise to draw level, then broke the Australian in the 12th game to clinch her second title of the season after winning the Korea Open last month.
“I think I played some good tennis,” Wozniacki, who saved three break points in the ninth game of the final set, told a news conference.
“Sam also played well and it could have gone either way. But I hit some good shots close to the lines on important points and it made the difference,” added the former world number one.
Stosur, who fought back from a set down to beat another former world number one Ana Ivanovic in Saturday’s semifinal, looked on course to end her 13-month title drought after she broke Wozniacki to love at the start of the final set.
But the Australian, who was looking for her first title since winning last year’s US Open, lost her serve in the sixth game and was broken decisively in the 12th.
She saved the first match point with an ace but missed a running forehand on the second to concede defeat after two hours and 13 minutes.
“I definitely had a few chances. I think I went for the right shots but missed by a couple of inches,” said Stosur, who has a poor record in finals, winning only three of 15.
“I’d rather be aggressive and go for my shots than wait for my opponent to make a mistake,” added the world number nine, who will be the first reserve at the WTA Championships, which start in Istanbul on Tuesday.
“Despite the defeat I’m happy with the way I played for the whole tournament here. I’m going to Istanbul tonight, will have one day to prepare myself, and if I get a chance to play there, I think I’ll be ready.”
Del Potro triumphs
In Vienna, top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro won his 12th career title yesterday by defeating qualifier Grega Zemlja of Slovenia 7-5, 6-3 at the Erste Bank Open.
It’s only the second indoor title for the Argentine, who was playing his first event since returning from a right wrist injury that sidelined him for more than a month.
“It’s been a fantastic week,” the eighth-ranked Del Potro said. “Coming back to the tour and being seeded No. 1 put me under pressure. I am so happy now. Winning a tournament means a lot. It’s important to have a good end to the year.” The victory makes Del Potro, who improved to 12-5 in finals, a strong favorite to pick up one of the remaining berths at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals.
“That was on my mind coming here,” he said. “I am looking even better now ... but I still have two big tournaments and must do well in Basel and Paris.” A losing finalist last year, Del Potro survived a shaky start against the 70th-ranked Zemlja, who was the first player from Slovenia to reach a final after upsetting Janko Tipsarevic in the semifinals.
Title for Berdych
In Stockholm, Tomas Berdych won his second ATP title this year by rallying to beat top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the Stockholm Open final yesterday.
The sixth-ranked Czech saved seven of nine breakpoint chances in the hard-fought match to improve to 3-1 against Tsonga and add to his win in February in Montpellier, France. Berdych now has eight career titles.
Berdych saved a break point to hold serve for 5-4 in the deciding set. In the following game, Tsonga then saved two match points by hitting an ace and a winner but ultimately lost on a double fault.