Russian Liudmila Samsonova clinched her third title of the year at the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Sunday, beating Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen 7-5, 7-5 in a closely fought final at Ariake Coliseum.
World No. 30 Samsonova and No. 36 Zheng traded 10 consecutive holds to open the match before the Russian converted her first break point opportunity at 5-5, then served out the set.
Samsonova broke Zheng for a second time to lead 3-2 in the second set before the 19-year-old won her first break to get back on serve at 3-3.
With the contest reaching another 5-5 deadlock, Samsonova once again won the decisive break point, setting herself up to serve out the match with a love game.
"It was a really tough match," Samsonova said. "Huge congrats to Qinwen and her team because she's playing amazing."
The back-to-back winner of WTA events in Washington and Cleveland in August, the 23-year-old Samsonova now has four career championships to her name.
She did not drop a set during her run to the title in Tokyo, which included wins over Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and former World No. 1 Garbine Muguruza.
"The atmosphere was incredible, and I hope to come back next year," she said.
In the doubles final, Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Mexico's Giuliana Olmos defeated Australia's Ellen Perez and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States 6-4, 6-4.
The Pan Pacific Open was held for the first time since 2019, following a two-year COVID-19 hiatus.
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