Beijing continued to be a lucky charm for struggling tennis stars after Chile's Fernando Gonzalez won his first title of the year with a hard-fought victory in the final of the 2007 China Open yesterday.
 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile kisses the China Open Cup during the tournament's prize-giving ceremony in Beijing September 16, 2007. [Reuters] |
Coming into the tournament with a miserable four-match losing streak, the Chilean revived his form with explosive service and forehand - the weapons that helped him to his first grand slam final earlier this year at the Australian Open - to destroy world No 11 Tommy Roberdo in straight sets 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
"It's great to finally win a title," said the 27-year-old second seed. "I think I can still improve my game but I'm so happy to return to my best."
The win against the Spaniard was Gonzalez's eighth career title and only his second on hard court surfaces following his 2005 victory at Auckland.
"The best thing in a few months," the current world No 7 said of his resurgent display. "I played a really good match today and I dominated from the first game."
Several elite players have returned to best form in Beijing in the past few years.
In the augural event in 2004, former world No 1 Marat Safin of Russia defeated compatriot Mikhail Youzhny in the final, three months before he overcame Roger Federer in the 2005 Australian Open semis en route to his second grand slam title.
Last year Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus overcame a slight slump after his 2006 Australian Open runner-up finish to win his first ATP title.
Apart from Gonzalez, the 2007 China Open also witnessed strong returns by other players - finalist Roberdo came to Beijing ranked outside the top 10 for the first time since May 2006 as German wildcard Nicolas Kiefer, the former world No 4 who slumped to world No 168 because of injuries, eliminated several top seeds to make his second semifinal appearance of the year.
Gonzalez said he just focused more on quality not quantity.
"I don't play a lot of tournaments since last year," he said. "But I played really good in those tournaments."
