Tursunov races past Becker to win Thailand Open

Sixth-seed Dmitry Tursunov [Images] breezed past unseeded German Benjamin Becker 6-2, 6-1 to win his second title of the year at the Thailand Open on Sunday.

Tursunov outclassed Becker with a combination of lethal serving and powerful returns from the baseline to win the match in only 56 minutes, denying the German his maiden tour title.

With Becker eager to impress in his first appearance in an ATP tour final, the 29th-ranked Russian took advantage of his early jitters and showered the German with stinging forehand drives to win the third title of his career.

"I'm happy with the way I played, I couldn't find anything I could have done differently," Tursunov told a news conference.

"My main concern was to put as much pressure on Benjamin in his first final. I had that advantage over him, I've been there and been nervous so I know how it feels."

After an uneventful start, Tursunov broke Becker twice midway through the first set, forcing him into a series of errors and stifling his attempts to get into the match.

Becker twice came close to breaking the Russian early in the second set but squandered his chances, giving Tursunov the psychological advantage to break his opponent's serve and take the match.

"It feels great to win but it's done now and there's a new week coming up," said Tursunov, 24, who is based in California.

"I don't want to rest on my laurels. The most positive thing is that I'm seeing good results, regardless of the way I played."

A stunned Becker, who jumped 419 places in the rankings last year, said he had never had a chance.

"He was really going for it and the more the match went on, the more confident he became. The momentum was going his way. I couldn't step it up."

He added: "I'm disappointed with the final but I played well in the tournament, I'm happy with my performance, leaving here satisfied, knowing what I have to do.

"Today showed me that if players like Tursunov are at their best I have no chance. I want to be ready to challenge them."

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