BEIJING: Tomas Berdych captured his 11th career ATP title, and his first this year, by beating Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3 7-6 (7) in a rain-delayed Shenzhen Open final on Monday.
Held over because of heavy rain that drenched parts of southern China over the weekend, Berdych maintained his composure through another frustrating weather interruption to win in straight sets.
"The last three days were tough especially mentally to keep being very focused," the top-seeded Czech said in a post-match interview.
"I was the one who dealt with that the best. I'm proud of myself to make it happen because these conditions were not easy at all."
The victory gave the 30-year-old Berdych his first ATP title since last year's Stockholm Open. He has also reached three other finals this year, at the Qatar Open, the Rotterdam Open and the Monte Carlo Masters, but lost them all.
He made a strong start against Garcia-Lopez, racing into a 5-2 lead before play was halted for 45 minutes due to a downpour. When the players returned Berdych closed out the opening set but fell 3-1 behind in the second.
He managed to recover and force a tiebreak but had to save a set point before sealing victory.
"It was another challenge to finally get the trophy," said Berdych.
"The tiebreak was really up and down but I think my experience was decisive."
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