seeded Novak Djokovic defeated David Ferrer of Spain 6-2, 6-4 Monday to defend his China Open title and claim his second championship of the year ahead of this week's ATP Masters in Shanghai. In the women's final, top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki beat No. 3 Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Djokovic, the world No. 2, cruised through the first set of the match that had been postponed because of rain Sunday, but fell behind 4-2 in the second as his pace flagged slightly. At 4-3, the eighth-ranked Ferrer battled to hold serve and defend his lead, but Djokovic was relentless, breaking him to take the set and, two games later, the match. “I started off really well but then I lost the momentum I kind of lost the rhythm, got him back into the match with some unforced errors,” said Djokovic, who converted four of six break points while being broken only once to wrap up the match in 1 hour, 24 minutes. “It wasn't a really nice looking match from both sides. We made a lot of unforced errors, especially him. He made my life a little bit easier at the end of the second set, where, with his unforced errors, I got back into the set,” the Serb added. Djokovic, who was runner-up at last month's US Open, said he was pleased with his improved serve, which he says is largely responsible for the run of success he's experienced since Wimbledon. The 23-year-old had somewhat more difficulty accounting for his outrageous success in Beijing, where he won the Olympic bronze medal in 2008 in addition to his back-to-back China Open titles. The playing surface - and the local cuisine - seem to suit his style of play, Djokovic said. “There's something special about this place.” The win improves Djokovic's record against Ferrer to five wins and four losses. Djokovic next faces either Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia or Chinese qualifier Zhang Ze Wednesday at the ATP Masters in Shanghai. Ferrer has less time to rest, meeting France's Michael Llodra in Shanghai Tuesday. He also pointed to the eighth game of the second set as having decided Monday's match. “I had my chance there, but didn't do it,” said the 28-year-old, who entered the final after beating Ljubicic in three sets in Saturday's semifinals. “Maybe when I lost this game, I lost a little bit my concentration and couldn't come back and play regular again.” Wozniacki converted three of her four breakpoints, one more than her Russian opponent. Zvonareva led 3-1 in the first set before losing five straight games. Wozniacki broke Zvonareva in the first game of the third set and again to take a 3-0 lead. Tsonga beats Lopez in 1st round in Shanghai Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat an error-prone Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (4), 6-3 Monday in the opening round of the Shanghai Masters for his first win since returning from a three-month injury layoff. Both players held serve throughout the first set before Tsonga took control of the tiebreaker with two aces and a backhand passing shot. He clinched the set with a forehand winner that skidded off the line. The 12th-seeded Tsonga earned the only break of the match to go up 2-0 in the second set and sealed the win when Lopez hit a backhand wide. Tsonga lost in the first round of the Tokyo Open last week, his first tournament since injuring his knee in a quarterfinal loss to Andy Murray at Wimbledon. Also, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain beat Eduardo Schwank of Argentina 6-7 (8), 6-2, 6-4. Stosur advances In Japan, top-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia began her defense of the Japan Women's Open Monday with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Japan's Sachie Ishizu. In other matches, second-seeded Marion Bartoli of France defeated compatriot Julie Coin 6-2, 6-1, and No. 4 Maria Kirilenko of Russia overpowered Japan's Kurumi Nara 6-1, 6-0. Coco Vandeweghe of the United States beat Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 6-1, 6-2. Seeds cruise in Austria Seeded duo Andrea Petkovic and Klara Zakopalova both advanced to the second round of the WTA event Monday which lost its biggest drawcard with the withdrawal on the eve of play of Serena Williams. Petkovic, seeded six, won an all German battle by beating Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4, while eight-seeded Zakopalova of the Czech Republic overcame Elena Vesnina of Russia 7-5, 7-5. But it was matches between unseeded opponents that provided the drama, as Britain's Anne Keothavong battled for two hours 11 minutes before edging past Australian Jarmila Groth 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4). Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson needed three sets to overcome Austrian wild card Yvonne Meusburger 5-7, 6-3, 6
