Tomas Berdych retained the Shenzhen Open title after defeating Richard Gasquet 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3 in the final Sunday. It was Berdych's first ATP World Tour title since winning the Stockholm Open almost a year ago. Berdych lost his serve in the opening game of the first set but fought back to level with Gasquet before winning the tie-break on his first set point. Gasquet denied Berdych two match points in the second set and then drew level by winning the tie-breaker. Berdych recovered well and after breaking through in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead in the decisive set the Czech did not falter. The victory puts the 31-year old at ninth place in the standings, just a hair short of a top eight ticket to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Khachanov bags Chengdu Open Russian novice Karen Khachanov powered to his first ATP World Tour title Sunday in Chengdu, handily beating Spaniard Ramos Vinolas in the last of three games to clinch the victory. The 20-year old finished the final match of the set 6-3 after Vinolas sent a ball long. Khachanov lost the first game 7-6 (4), but his powerful serve saw him come back for a 7-6 win in the second game with the Vinolas wilting under the force of 14 aces over the course of the match. The Moscow-native bested three seeded players on his way to his showdown with Vinolas Sunday, upsetting seventh seed Joao Sousa and fourth seed Feliciano Lopez. The win will rocket him up the ATP rankings to 55. Radwanska closes in on WTA Final spot Agnieszka Radwanska beat Chinese wildcard Wang Qiang in straight sets in the first round of the China Open Sunday, leaving her just two wins away from clinching a place in the elite season finale. The Pole needs to reach the quarterfinals in Beijing to guarantee her sixth consecutive appearance at the eight-player WTA Final in Singapore. She scooped the year-end crown last year, having qualified for the event just a week before when she bagged her second title of the season in Tianjin. Eighth ranked Carla Suarez Navarro crashed out in the first round of the China Open, putting her qualification for the year-ending tournament in doubt. But the Spaniard's defeat to Yaroslava Shvedova, currently ranked at 41, opens the door to players just behind her in the so-called "Race to Singapore" — Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. A first-time qualification is also in sight for both Briton Johanna Konta and American big hitter Madison Keys, who both won their first-round matches. Meanwhile, Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic battled past former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic to secure her second-round spot in a nail-biting tie break. Caroline Wozniacki faced a three set battle against Coco Vandeweghe to reach the second round of the China Open, just a week after the former world number one won her first title since February 2015 in Tokyo. The Dane was sidelined by injury for much of this year but made a strong late-season comeback, reaching the US Open semifinals in September and the round of 16 in Wuhan to signal her return to form.
