No. 2 seed David Goffin has won the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships title. World No. 31 Adrian Mannarino just couldn't surprise Belgian Goffin in the Tokyo final. The Belgian handed a straight sets loss to the Frenchman on Sunday 6-3 7-5.
Mannarino, 29, saved two break points in his first service game. Mannarino blew game points in the fourth game as Goffin broke him to take a 3-1 lead. The No. 2 seed then held on to his serve to close out the first set.
Mannarino converted his first break point of the match to take a 4-2 second set lead.
Disappointingly, Mannarino blew three game points in the following game as Goffin broke back to make it 4-3. Goffin saved a break point in the eighth game to tie the set at 4-4. Goffin broke Mannarino once again in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead. The world No. 11 dominantly served out to love in the following game to seal the title.
Mannarino again falls short to Goffin
2017 Tokyo champion Goffin won 80 percent of his first serve points against Mannarino. The world No. 11 converted 3-of-6 of his break point chances in his straight sets win. The match came to an end after an hour and 23 minutes of action.
Goffin has remained perfect against Mannarino at the ATP level. The head-to-record between the two now stands at 3-0 in Goffin's favor.
Previously, Mannarino retired the match to Goffin in Marseille in 2012. The world No. 11also beat Mannarino two years ago in Basel.
Goffin dominant in Tokyo
World No. 11 Goffin lost just one set on his way to claiming the Tokyo title. The only player to take a set to Goffin was qualifier Matt Ebden. Goffin was on the brink of losing to Ebden in the second round before he collected a narrow 2-6 7-5 7-6 (7-1) win.
The Tokyo champion beat the well-known Feliciano Lopez and Richard Gasquet, as well as No. 8 seed Diego Schwartzman in straight sets.
Goffin continues to shine
Goffin now has four ATP titles in his collection following his win over Mannarino. Red-hot Goffin has captured back-to-back ATP titles. The Belgian went all the way at the Shenzhen Open last week.
Previously, 2017 Tokyo champion Goffin earned two ATP championships in 2014. The 26-year-old had winning campaigns in Kitzbuhel and Metz three years ago. The world No. 11 would love to win his third in a row title at the Shanghai Masters next week.
Mannarino has once again failed to win an ATP title. The 29-year-old was hoping to make a breakthrough this Sunday in Tokyo but fell short in the end. Previously, Japan's Sugita beat Mannarino in the Antalya final this past July.
