Bencic claims 10th career title with Pan Pacific Open victory

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TOKYO (AP) — Belinda Bencic claimed her 10th career title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Linda Noskova in the final of the WTA's Pan Pacific Open.

Ten years after her previous appearance in the final of the Tokyo tournament, Bencic dominated her Czech rival throughout Sunday's final, breaking Noskova's serve three times on the way to a comfortable win in one hour and 22 minutes.

Tokyo has provided recent happy memories for the Swiss who won the Olympic singles gold medal and doubles silver in Tokyo four years ago.

“It was wonderful playing in front of you guys,” Bencic said after the match. “The last time I won here was the Tokyo Olympics when it was an empty stadium, so it was a completely different atmosphere, but it was great to play in front of you guys. I love to play in Japan, so I’m super happy to finally win this tournament.”

It had been an energy-sapping run to the final for Bencic, who had spent 5 hours and 23 minutes on court over the previous two days, as she triumphed through back-to-back three-set matches in the quarterfinal and then semifinal against Sofia Kenin.

Noskova, meanwhile, had spent just 35 minutes on court across the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds in Tokyo, advancing via a retirement and a walkover when WTA Finals bound Elena Rybakina pulled out of their semifinal, citing a back problem.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis