Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki successfully defended her Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, 6-0, 7-5, in Sunday’s final. With the win, Wozniacki finally clinched her first title of 2017 after six unsuccessful finals stints. The win also extended Wozniacki’s record of winning at least one title per year to 10 years. Wozniacki, who has 26 WTA singles title under her belt, said she felt great after bagging her first crown of the year.
This is also Wozniacki’s third Toray Pan Pacific Open title, adding to her victory last year and in 2010.
The victory helped Wozniacki maintain her World No.6 ranking as she moved into the Top 5 of the Porsche Race to Singapore. "I’m just happy that it’s been a great year," said Wozniacki, who stunned top seed and world No. 1 Garbine Muguruza, 6-2, 6-0, in the semifinals. Overall, the world No. 6 Wozniacki hit 16 winners with just three unforced errors while Pavlyuchenkova tallied 23 winners but had 31 unforced errors that derailed her chances.
Ostapenko wins first hardcourt crown
In South Korea, French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko bagged her first title as a Top 10 player after she recovered from a set down en route to a 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Beatriz Haddad Maia in the final of the KEB Hana Bank-Incheon Airport Korea Open.
Ostapenko needed two hours and 15 minutes to beat the inexperienced finalist Maia. This was Ostapenko’s first win in four WTA finals, aside from her victory at Roland Garros, Despite her lack of experience in championship matches, Maia looked headed for an upset as she took the first set from the 20-year-old Ostapenko. Despite the first-set loss, Ostapenko never lost her composure, racing to a 3-0 lead.
She then toughened up in the final set to take the win.
Zhang bags Guangzhou title
In China, second seed and Chinese no. 1 Zhang Shuai notched her second career WTA title via a hard-earned 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over unseeded Aleksandra Krunic in the final of the Guangzhou International Women's Open. Zhang also won her first WTA crown in this event in 2013.
Zhang capitalized on Krunic’s 11 unforced errors to take the first set. However, Krunic got back into the game due to Zhang’s inconsistent play, reeling off three games in a row to bag the second set. In the final set, Zhang took the fifth game and went unchallenged from there, capping the win with her third ace of the match. Overall, Zhang had 32 winners while Krunic had 31.