BEIJING: World number one Rafael Nadal won his sixth title of another remarkable year as he beat Australian Nick Kyrgios 6-2, 6-1 in the China Open final on Sunday, while Caroline Garcia stunned soon-to-be world number one Simona Halep 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in the women’s event.

Nadal, who was tied with Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev at five titles this season, picked up his 75th career singles trophy with the win in Beijing.

The 31-year-old’s six trophies this year include a record 10th title at the French Open and a third at the U.S. Open. The last time the Spaniard won at least six titles in a year was in 2013 when he captured 10 trophies for the season.

World number 19 Kyrgios, who was looking for his first title of the year, held his opening two service games, but faded as Nadal broke twice to grab the first set.

Nadal almost shut out Kyrgios in the second set and took a 5-0 lead before the Australian won his solitary game to slightly delay the inevitable as Nadal sauntered to his 12th consecutive win.

“He [Nadal] played well, I played terrible,” Kyrgios said. “He’s in great form, he just destroyed me today.”

Unseeded Frenchwoman Garcia also won in straight sets her second title in as many weeks.

“She played amazing tennis,” Halep said of Garcia. “She deserved to win today. She was better.”

For Halep, the loss was particularly disappointing as she was unable to back up her guaranteed debut in the No 1 ranking on Monday. She secured the top spot on Saturday with her semi-final victory over French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Halep’s best opportunity to rebound against Garcia ended when she failed to make good on any of the nine break points she had at 3-3 in the second set.

“For sure it definitely turned the second set,” said Garcia, who added to her Wuhan Open triumph last week. “This game was definitely very important.”

In the second-set tiebreaker, Garcia jumped out to 4-1, and on a first match point at 6-3 with Halep serving, the Romanian netted a forehand. Garcia fell to her knees in celebration.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2017