TOKYO: Former world number one Ana Ivanovic brushed aside Caroline Wozniacki to win the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday and move closer to sealing a berth for the season-ending WTA finals in Singapore.

The 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) win in the $1 million tournament also gave the Serb her fourth WTA title of the year and the 26-year-old is projected to move from the eighth spot to fifth in the race for Singapore.

“The key for me was coming forward to the net,” Ivanovic said.

“She is a great offensive player and gets a lot of balls back so it was important for me to come forward and play well at the net.”

Ivanovic broke Wozniacki three times in the first set at Ariake Coliseum and won the second-set tiebreaker with a forehand to the corner as she needed 99 minutes to win the battle of the former world number ones, stretching her head-to-head tally of wins over the second-seeded Dane to five-two.

“I tried to serve and return well. I tried to play the first couple of balls out wide so she has to run for it,” said the Dane. “But Ana was playing very aggressively.”

PLISKOVA TAKES TITLE IN SEOUL

SEOUL: Rising Czech star Karolina Pliskova earned her second career title with a 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 victory over America’s Varvara Lepchenko in the Korea Open final on Sunday.

The 22-year-old saw her one-set lead evaporate when first-time finalist Lepchenko took a tight second set to level the match.

But 32nd-ranked Pliskova stormed to a 4-0 lead in the final set to lift a trophy for the second time in Asia after she won in Kuala Lumpur last year.

Pliskova also ended her run of defeats in WTA finals this year at her fourth attempt after losing in Pattaya City, Nurnberg and Hong Kong.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd , 2014