Djokovic and Sharapova win China Open

World No.1 Novak Djokovic has crushed Tomas Berdych 6-0 6-2 to win the China Open and maintain a remarkable 100 per cent record at the Beijing tournament.

Meanwhile, French Open champion Maria Sharapova was forced to battle hard to overcome Petra Kvitova 6-4 2-6 6-3 in the women’s final on Sunday – a victory which moves her into second place in the rankings.

Serb Djokovic was 5-0 ahead in the second set, one game from serving up an incredible “double bagel” as he tore through his Czech opponent with a brilliant serving display.

As he was staring at an embarrassing defeat, a stunned Berdych laughed as he pretended to hand his racket to a ball-girl, suggesting that she may be able to take on his opponent.

But the world No.6 rallied briefly to take Djokovic’s serve and then take the scores to a more respectable 5-2, before the reigning champion sealed his fifth title in Beijing, an event he has won the five times he has entered.

“Beijing is definitely my lucky place, I enjoy coming here,” Djokovic said to the crowd after his stunning victory over the third seed.

In the women’s final, it was a gritty performance from current world number four Sharapova, who handed Kvitova her first loss in nine games.

The fourth seed Russian appeared to have carried into the match the determination she showed in her powerful 6-0 6-4 semi-final defeat of Serbian world number nine Ana Ivanovic.

“After exchanging breaks in the first set, I was happy. I felt like I stepped it up,” Sharapova said.

“I started returning quite well, reading her serve a little bit. She became the more aggressive player in the second set. I think I took a few too many steps back and let her be that way, let her play that way.

“I was kind of happy that I was able to lift my game again in the third and come out with a win.”

The victory was Sharapova’s sixth over Kvitova in eight meetings, with the Russian winning the last four meetings before Sunday’s final.

However, Kvitova took heart from the way she battled through the gruelling match, which lasted two hours and 28 minutes.

“What I did today I think was great battle. It was small things, small points that make the difference in the end,” she said.

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