Medvedev, Tsonga, Muchova claim trophies

US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev continued his superb form in the second half of the season, beating Croatia’s Borna Coric 6-3 6-1 in the St Petersburg Open final on Sunday to claim his third title of the year.

Medvedev was playing in his fifth consecutive final after Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open and the 23-year-old became the first Russian to claim the St Petersburg Open trophy since Mikhail Youzhny 15 years ago.

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He broke Croatia’s Coric twice en route to taking the opening set and tightened his grip on the contest with two more breaks in the second to seal his sixth career title.

Should Medvedev maintain his form, the world No.4 will be a top contender at November’s season-ending ATP Finals in London, where he is due to appear for the first time.

Tsonga triumphant in Metz

France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rallied from a set down to beat Aljaz Bedene 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 6-3 in the Moselle Open final on Sunday for his fourth title in the tournament.

Playing in his fifth title clash in Metz, the 34-year-old fired 19 aces and won 92 per cent of points on his first serve as he overcame a wobbly start to seal a second title of the season following his triumph in Montpellier in February.

It was in Metz last year that world No.61 Tsonga had returned after a seven-month absence due to left knee surgery and the 2008 Australian Open finalist showed his battling qualities much to the delight of the home crowd.

Bedene, seeking his first tour-level trophy, edged a tight opening set but a determined Tsonga hit back in the second set to drag the contest into a decider.

With his powerful forehand firing on all cylinders, Tsonga raced into a 3-0 lead and never looked back, closing out the victory in two hours and 47 minutes.

Tsonga also became the ninth French champion in the last 11 editions of the tournament with 10 of his 18 ATP Tour trophies coming on home soil.

Muchova wins first career title in Seoul

Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova thrashed fourth seed Magda Linette 6-1 6-1 in the Korea Open final on Sunday to claim her maiden WTA title.

World No.45 Muchova, who is enjoying the best season of her career having also reached the final in Prague, won 90 per cent of points on her first serve and did not face a break point en route to the victory.

The 23-year-old, who stunned compatriot Karolina Pliskova in her run to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, took full advantage an error-prone performance by Linette who produced seven double faults in the 68-minute contest.

It was sweet revenge for Muchova, after Poland’s Linette had won the pair’s only previous meeting in the Bronx quarterfinals last month en route to claiming her first WTA title.

Just over a year ago, Muchova was ranked outside the top 200 but this week improves to a career-best mark of world No.37.