Zheng Qinwen defeats Sofia Kenin to win Pan Pacific Open

Top-seeded Zheng Qinwen of China defeated Sofia Kenin of the U.S. 7-6(5), 6-3 in the women's singles final at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, winning the fifth title of her career.

Zheng knocked out No. 6 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia 7-6(5), 6-3 in a close match in the semifinals on Saturday. Kenin, who participated in the tournament via wildcard, upset three seeded players, No. 10 Wang Xinyu of China, No. 3 Daria Kasatkina of Russia and No. 9 Katie Boulter of Britain. Back in 2020, Kenin ranked career-high No. 4 and won the Australian Open.

The first set of the match was suspended twice due to rain before the roof of the Ariake Coliseum was closed. Both Zheng and Kenin managed to hold all of their first six service games for the set to enter tiebreak. Zheng earned herself multiple break points, but failed to convert any of them.

Zheng led during tiebreak and scored two straight points after the game tied 5-5 to clinch the first set, leading 1-0 in the match. She scored 85 percent of first serves in this set.

The second set remained close from the beginning, but Zheng broke Kenin in the second game to lead 2-0. She then extended her lead to 3-0 by sealing the third game with an ace.

Though Kenin held in the fourth, Zheng's lead stood after she delivered a love game in the fifth within which she served two aces. Kenin had the chance to score her first break point of the competition in Game 7, but Zheng saved it and put her lead back to three games, 5-2.

Zheng had the chance to end the match in her service game in the ninth as the second set reached 5-3. Her sharp serves earned the Chinese a championship point after the two exchanged four plays. In the end, Kenin hit the ball out of bounds and lost the battle.