Stanislas Wawrinka captures World Tennis Tournament title

Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat defending champion Tomas Berdych for the sixth straight time, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to clinch the World Tennis Tournament for his ninth career title at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The fourth-seeded Wawrinka, who beat the Czech in the semifinals on the way to winning last year’s Australian Open, secured crucial breaks of serve at the end of the second set and the start of the third.

Bidding for this 11th career title, the third-seeded Berdych won 92 percent of his points on first serve and saving the only break point he faced in the first set, where he broke Wawrinka’s serve once.

But the 29-year-old Wawrinka broke for a 5-3 lead and broke again and held for 2-0 at the start of the third set.

Wawrinka then broke again to take complete control at 4-1 up, but Berdych broke back and held for 4-3 to give himself a fighting chance of a comeback.

Berdych, who had nine aces, saved one match point when serving at 5-3 down, before Wawrinka clinched victory at the next opportunity on his serve.

===

Third-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany won the Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium, without hitting a ball when fifth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain pulled out of the final with a neck injury.

After clinching her sixth career title, Petkovic gave home fans something to cheer when she played an exhibition match against four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters, who is the tournament director.

Suarez Navarro decided not to play after waking up with severe neck pains.