Naomi Osaka, who stopped Andreescu’s undefeated streak earlier, wins China Open final - The Globe and Mail

Naomi Osaka hits a return during the women's singles final against Ashleigh Barty at the China Open on Sunday.

NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images

A surging Naomi Osaka won her second consecutive final with a three-set victory over top-seeded Ashleigh Barty at the China Open on Sunday.

Osaka bounced back from a set down to cruise through the final sets, defeating the Australian top seed 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

That follows the two-time Grand Slam winner’s victory last month at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in her birthplace of Osaka, Japan, her first singles title since the Australian Open in January.

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Osaka also defeated Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., in the quarter-finals of this week’s China Open, stopping the Canadian teen’s months-long winning streak.

Japan’s dominant player came into the tour’s Asian leg determined to make a statement following what she has called an on-and-off year that included failing to make a final in Europe or America.

Osaka’s shaky start included a trio of double faults midway through the first set that helped put the French Open champion in the driver’s seat.

The second and third sets were entirely different stories, however, with Osaka bringing her service game under control and pounding her returns down the line. After breaking Barty in the seventh game, victory was all but assured, despite an attempted comeback by the Queensland native in the final game.

In the men’s final, Austrian top seed Dominic Thiem overcame a sluggish start and clawed his way back from a set and a break down to beat Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

The win secured Thiem’s fourth title of the year after triumphs at Indian Wells, Barcelona and Austria.

Thiem, who was forced to dig deep and come back from a set down in the semi-final against Karen Khachanov, broke Tsitsipas five times while dropping serve three times to lift his first ever title in Asia.

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“Honestly I think this was one of the best matches I’ve played so far in my whole career,” Thiem said. “I know it’s hard for you, Stefanos. You played amazing and I really hope that we have a lot more finals in the biggest tournaments.

“Last year we had a great rivalry going on and I hope it continues with many more finals to come.”

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October 06, 2019 at 10:29PM