SPAIN’S Garbine Muguruza beat Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets in Beijing yesterday to win the China Open women’s singles title and kept a perfect 3-0 record against the Swiss rival.

    Muguruza, who will move from No. 5 to a new career-high No. 4 in the world rankings today, overcame early jitters to give a 7-5, 6-4 trouncing to Bacsinszky, who is now assured of making the top 10 for the first time in her career.

    The first set started with Bascinszky breaking the rival’s serve and Muguruza breaking back. The Swiss jumped to 3-1 by breaking the fourth game and then 5-2 with one more break and a save.

    Forced to the corner, Muguruza fought back strongly and won five straight games.

    Tied 4-4 in the second set, Muguruza broke the ninth game and kept serve in the 10th to claim her second career title.

    Highlights of Muguruza’s career also include winning her maiden title at the Hobart International in 2014, reaching the final of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships and making consecutive quarterfinal appearances at the 2014 and 2015 French Open.

    This year’s China Open missed the biggest names in the game after Maria Sharapova withdrew with a left forearm injury and top-ranked Serena Williams pulled out to heal from a series of injuries and the heartbreak of losing in her U.S. Open bid.

    Top-seeded Simona Halep retired from her first round game with a recurring Achilles injury and Eugenie Bouchard exited the opener with dizziness.

    Earlier in the day, Canada’s Vasek Pospisil and U.S. Jack Sock beat Canada’s Daniel Nestor and France’s Edouard Roger-Vasselin 3-6, 6-3, 10-6 in the China Open men’s doubles final.

    Jolted awake by the first set loss, Pospisil and Sock fought back strongly and won the title in one hour, 13 minutes.(Xinhua)