Serena Picks Up Where She Left Off, Djokovic Hands Nadal First Hard Court Loss

Serena Williams returned to tennis after having not played since the US Open, the result was familiar.  Serena waltzed to the Beijing title without dropping a set, losing 5 games in a set 3 times (Schiavone and Kirilenko twice).  The world no. 1 has still only lost 4 times this year.  Jankovic, caps a stellar Asian swing with an appearance in the Beijing final, and now holds the inside track on the final spot in Istanbul.  The former world no. 1 has quietly put together an excellent year.

1) Serena Williams (USA) def. 8) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 6-2 6-2

-Serena wins her 56th career title, 10th of 2013, last '13 US Open
-She is now 7th all time in WTA titles, trailing Navratilova, Evert, Graf, Court, Goolagong, and King
-It is her 17th "Tier I" title
-It is her 2nd win in Beijing ('04), but first since it became Tier I/Premier Mandatory
-The WTA race rankings haven't come out on the website yet, but according to my calculations Jankovic has 3920 pts and Kerber has 3565 pts with Wozniacki at 3301 pts in the battle for no. 8 in the world.  Kvitova, with her semifinal appearance, has moved past Errani to be no. 6.

2013 WTA "Tier I" Champions
Doha: Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
Indian Wells: Maria Sharapova (RUS)
Miami: Serena Williams (USA)
Madrid: Serena Williams (USA)
Rome: Serena Williams (USA)
Toronto: Serena Williams (USA)
Cincinnati: Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
Tokyo: Petra Kvitova (CZE)
Beijing: Serena Williams (USA)

In ATP action, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal navigated their halves of the draw in Beijing and the current world no. 1 swept aside the no. 1 to be in straight sets.  Nadal will now be no. 1 for the forseeable future though as Djokovic still has plenty of points to defend this year and the Spaniard will not be defending any points until after the Aussie Open next year.  In Tokyo, Juan Martin Del Potro overcame a valiant effort from Raonic to win in two tight sets.

ATP 500: Beijing, China

1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 2) Rafael Nadal (ESP) 6-3 6-4

-Djokovic wins 38th career title, 4th of 2013, last '13 Monte Carlo (6-month drought)
-It is his 4th win in Beijing ('09,'10,'12)

Defending champion: Novak Djokovic (SRB) - defended title

Quarterfinalists: 3) David Ferrer (ESP), 4) Tomas Berdych (CZE)-SF, 5) Richard Gasquet (FRA)-SF, 8) John Isner (USA), Fabio Fognini (ITA), Sam Querrey (USA)

Players reaching QF in '12 and '13: Djokovic and Querrey
Locals performance: 0-2, losses for Zhang and Wu.  The former made the quarters last year.

Americans performance: 4-2, Isner and Querrey

Third set tiebreaks: Ferrer def. Pospisil (R1), Kohlschreiber def. Montanes (R1)

ATP 500: Tokyo, Japan

1) Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) def. 3) Milos Raonic (CAN) 7-6(5) 7-5

-Del Potro wins 16th career title, 3rd of 2013, last '13 Washington
-It is his first Asian tournament victory

Defending champion: Kei Nishikori (JPN) - QF l. to Almagro

Quarterfinalists: 4) Kei Nishikori (JPN), 6) Nicolas Almagro (ESP)-SF, Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR), Ivan Dodig (CRO)-SF, Jarkko Nieminen (FIN), L) Lukas Lacko (SVK)

Players reaching QF in '12 and '13: Raonic

Locals performance: 2-4, no wins besides Nishikori; Ito, Sugita, and Soeda lost in the first round
Americans performance: 0-1, q-Harrison lost to Zeballos in R1

Third set tiebreaks: Chardy def. Chiudinelli (R1)