Novak Djokovic routs Tomas Berdych to win fifth China Open title
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic won his fifth China Open title in what he called the most dominant final of his career, routing third-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-2 on Sunday in a little over an hour.
Djokovic was one point away from handing Berdych a "double bagel" -- a 6-0, 6-0 defeat -- but the Czech player fought off match point, then broke Djokovic to win his first game. He raised both arms in celebration and smiled with relief as the crowd roared.
The Serb sealed the victory two games later to improve his sparkling record at the China Open to 24-0.
"I met somebody in the final who I've never seen before," Berdych said. "I was just swept out from the court."
Djokovic said he woke up Sunday with a good feeling, and that continued when he stepped on court and broke Berdych in the first game.
"Everything felt right," he said. "I stepped on the court with this positive mindset. Obviously, I felt it from the start."
His statistics looked fairly routine: 19 winners and nine unforced errors, though many of those came in the two games he lost at the end. The difference was the way he relentlessly pressured Berdych's serve and prevented him from getting close to a break point on his.
"This has been, under the circumstances, probably the best performance in all finals in my career I played," he said. "It was incredible."
The No. 6-ranked Berdych said there was not much he could do.
"I probably played maybe over, what, 600 matches in my career, and I met guys like Andre (Agassi), Roger (Federer), all those probably in their best times," he said. "But I have never, ever experienced anything like that."
Djokovic said he's hoping to carry the momentum to another title at the Shanghai Masters next week. Djokovic is on a 25-match winning streak overall in China, having also won in Shanghai in 2012 and 2013. He has not lost in China since Federer beat him in the Shanghai semifinals in 2010.
