Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili downs Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in China Open final
- Published
Nikoloz Basilashvili won the first title of his career at the German Open in July 2018
Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili followed up his win over Great Britain's Kyle Edmund by beating world number four Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets in the final of the China Open.
World number 34 Basilashvili recorded a 6-4 6-4 win over the top seed in one hour 40 minutes in Beijing having beaten Edmund in the semi-finals.
Basilashvili is set to move up to 23rd in the world rankings on Monday.
At the Japan Open, Daniil Medvedev beat Kei Nishikori 6-2 6-4 in the final.
Basilashvili claimed the solitary early break in the third game of the first set, and after digging deep to hold for a 4-2 lead, the Georgian served out the opener in 45 minutes.
A tight second set followed with the first break point arriving in the eighth game, with Basilashvili eventually holding.
Basilashvili finally broke del Potro in the following game to serve for the match after a poor attempted drop shot from the Argentinean failed to clear the net.
Del Potro survived back-to-back match points, but Basilashvili took the third opportunity to seal the victory.
"I used all my effort in the final, but he played so well and he deserves to win the trophy," said US Open finalist del Potro.
Daniil Medvedev has won all three of his ATP titles in 2018 after earlier successes at the Sydney International and Winston-Salem Open
In Tokyo, Russian qualifier and world number 32 Medvedev beat home favourite Nishikori in 62 minutes to win his third ATP title of the season.
Japanese Nishikori, who is ranked 12th, has now lost eight ATP finals since his last victory, which came at the Memphis Open in February 2016.
Medvedev is set to climb to number 22 when the new rankings are released on Monday - a career high.
The 22-year-old claimed an early break in the first set, which he wrapped up in 25 minutes after 11 unforced errors from Nishikori.
Nishikori, 28, improved in the second set but, backed by a strong service game, Medvedev claimed a third break of serve to eventually seal the win.
"I was playing amazing and I am so happy to come out on top," said Medvedev. "To play seven matches and losing only one set, this makes me extremely happy."