Djokovic beats Cilic to win China Open final

Slides
Photos

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-11 21:53

Novak Djokovic of Serbia kisses the trophy after winning the men's singles final against Marin Cilic of Croatia at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing October 11, 2009. [Agencies]

Novak Djokovic of Serbia kisses the court after winning the men's singles final against Marin Cilic of Croatia at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing October 11, 2009. [Agencies]

BEIJING: Second-seeded Novak Djokovic beat error-prone Croatian Marin Cilic 6-2 7-6 in a rain-interrupted final to win his third title of the season at the China Open on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Serbian, who will move up to number three in the world later this month, kept his 100 percent career record against the world number 15 intact in a contest long on rallies but short on quality.

Djokovic kissed the ground and threw his shirt into the crowd after his victory at the venue where he won Olympic bronze at the Beijing Games last year.

Cilic had been inspired during his two-set demolition of world number two Rafa Nadal in the semi-finals and the more dangerous of the pair before the rain break, but struggled to pick up the pace after the 90-minute interruption.

Djokovic, who had saved six break points in his first three service games, seized on his chance and some deft touches and Cilic errors quickly put him a set up.

Cilic, who had never lost a tour final, rallied immediately by breaking Djokovic with his whipped returns to open the second set.

That turned out to be only the first of six breaks in a topsy turvy set punctuated by long rallies with Djokovic claiming the last to bring up a tiebreak.

US Open semi-finalist Djokovic always looked the most likely winner and secured his third victory in eight finals this year when Cilic made the last of his 25 unforced errors by going wide with a forehand.

Djokovic's path to the title was eased by Cilic's upset victory over top-seeded Rafael Nadal in Saturday's semifinal.

"Even though it was a straight-sets win it could easily have gone the other way. I think I was a little bit saved by the rain delay," said Djokovic, who has won all four meetings between the two. "I kind of got together my nerves to play well."

Cilic said the rain delay may have affected him.

"First time I went out on the court I started pretty good but when we came back the conditions were a little bit different. It was a little cooler and Novak started really good and I missed my shot to get back into the game," Cilic said.