TOKYO, Oct 5: Ninth seed Tomas Berdych powered past Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets on Sunday to win the Japan Open, his first title of the season.On the women’s side, top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark battled to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia to claim her third WTA title of the year.

Berdych, who shocked American second seed Andy Roddick and third seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile on his way to the final, coasted to a surprisingly one-sided 6-1, 6-4 victory over the fifth-seeded Del Potro.

Del Potro — ranked 12th after a blistering summer during which he won four titles — appeared to be off form, taking an injury time out during the first set and another before the start of the second set.

In the first, Del Potro double-faulted on break point to lose the third game and never got another chance against Berdych, who hit a total of 11 aces.

In the second, Berdych again scored an early break to move up 2-1, but Del Potro put up more of a fight, saving a match point in the ninth game.

The Argentine had an opening in the 10th game, with his first three break points, but Berdych clawed back, and won when Del Potro sent a return long on the third match point.

On the women’s side, the 18-year-old Wozniacki added to her 2008 success, after winning in Stockholm and New Haven in August.

Kanepi, 23, struggled with her serve in the first, handing the set to the Dane. She levelled the contest in the second, but her serve again betrayed her in the third, allowing Wozniacki to quickly jump ahead 5-0 and serve it out.

Results:

Semi-finals:

Men’s singles:

9-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt 2-Andy Roddick (US) 6-7, 7-5, 7-6; 5-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) bt 4-Richard Gasquet (France) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

Women’s singles:

1-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) bt Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovakia) 6-4, 6-3; 5-Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) bt 8-Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) 6-4, 6-4.

TURSUNOV IN FINAL

METZ (France): Dmitry Tursunov used his powerful serve to beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday and reach the Metz Open final.

The fifth-seeded Russian had four aces in the first set and won 89 per cent of his first-serve points.

“I think I’m serving well and I’m trying not to make silly errors,” Tursunov said. “It’s quite an improvement on the past.”

Stepanek, seeded seventh, had four break points in the second set but failed to convert.

Tursunov will face Paul-Henri Mathieu in the final. The fourth-seeded Mathieu defeated Adrian Mannarino 7-6(8), 7-6 (1) in an all-French semifinal match.

Tursunov will be playing his third final this season, while Mathieu will be in his first. Tursunov beat Mathieu in three sets in their only previous meeting.

Results:

Semi-finals:

4-Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) bt Adrian Mannarino (France) 7-6(8), 7-6(1); 5-Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) bt 7-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-4.

JANKOVIC BEATS WILLIAMS

STUTTGART: Jelena Jankovic won a fierce scrap with Venus Williams 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday to set up a Stuttgart Grand Prix final against Nadia Petrova.

Serb Jankovic, seeded second but already assured of taking over as world number one on Monday, edged a classic encounter with the sixth-seeded American in two hours 45 minutes despite being hampered by a foot problem.

Unseeded Russian Petrova’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the opening semi-final was straightforward by comparison.

Petrova, the 2006 champion, caught Azarenka cold, building a 4-0 lead before her unseeded opponent fought back.

Azarenka recovered one break and had Petrova under pressure again in her next service game before two huge aces pulled the Russian out of trouble.

Petrova then took control of the second set and clinched victory in 90 minutes.

Jankovic had come through a tough match against Vera Zvonareva of Russia on Friday night and at the start of Saturday’s semi-final Williams looked fresher.

The American snatched the first set 10-8 on a tiebreak and it was all Jankovic could do to hang on in the second.

She made the breakthrough in game 12 by forcing a set-point against serve.

Williams saved it before a terrible forehand into the net gave Jankovic another chance.

The Serb dashed across court to chase down a weak volley and forced a deciding set with a forehand pass that clipped the outside of the line.

Jankovic broke Williams at the start of the third set and saved a series of break points to keep the advantage. Williams, serving at 2-5, put an approach into the net to give Jankovic two match-points and she took the second of them as the American overhit another approach.

Results:

Semi-finals:

Nadia Petrova (RUS) bt Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 6-4, 6-4; Jelena Jankovic (SRB x2) bt Venus Williams (USA x6) 6-7 (8/10), 7-5, 6-2.—Agencies