Berdych wins AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships by defeating Del Potro

Ninth-seeded Czech star Tomas Berdych (pictured) easily dismantled fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-1, 6-4, on Sunday afternoon to win the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo. Once ranked in the Top 10 in 2007, Berdych won his first title since winning the Halle title in 2007.

Despite a low first serve percentage that got only as high as 57 percent, the Czech citizen that calls Monte Carlo home, smashed 11 aces compared to none by the 20-year-old Argentine. Despite a bad first serve percentage, Berdych was still able to only surrender four points on his first serve, while he was also able to break serve on three occasions, while Del Potro couldn’t break throughout the match despite three opportunities.

Currently ranked No. 27 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Berdych won his first title of the year and fourth overall in his young career. This week caps off a remarkable week of wins for the 23-year-old who recorded victories earlier in the week over No. 2 Andy Roddick, No. 3 Fernando Gonzalez and No. 9 Tommy Robredo. Berdych has now won 13 out of his last 16 matches against opponents from Argentina. Berdych improves to 32-19, which includes semifinal performances at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and at last week’s Thailand Open in Bangkok.

Talking the media after his match about his last two tournaments in Asia, Berdych said:

“I was really looking forward to these two tournaments (Bangkok and Tokyo) because last year I made two semifinals here and in Bangkok. So it's really nice to play here, everything is going well, I like these two places and I hope I'm going to be here next year because I like the place very much."

Putting together 29 wins in his last 30 matches before losing this afternoon, Del Potro was looking to become the first player since Sjeng Schalken in 2000 to win titles in his first five ATP final appearances. Del Potro currently owns four titles this year that ranks him second behind Rafael Nadal who has won eight titles. Despite falling to 38-10 on the season, Del Potro will move up to No. 9 in the rankings that will be released on Monday morning.