Shanghai

Novak Djokovic defeated Juan Martin del Potro to capture his 15th ATP World Tour Masters title at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, extending his winning streak on Chinese soil to 20 matches.

The world No. 2 took the first set in a quick 34 minutes before being forced into a third set tiebreak that brought out several “shot of the tournament” contenders.

“The match was really close and I think Nole played [some] unbelievable points in the tiebreak,” said the Argentine who qualifieid for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with his semifinal win over Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic showed just as much respect for his good friend as is evidenced by their frequent warm embraces at net post-match.

“He's a fantastic player and a great person,” stated Djokovic. “He showed that again. He has a really likable personality [and] he's a big fighter. All the way up to the last point, I didn't know if I was going to win the match.” The final score was 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(3).

By retaining the title, Djokovic narrows the distance between himself and Nadal who stands well at the No. 1 ranking. Meanwhile, David Ferrer jumps back up to the third ranking position displacing an absent Andy Murray who is recovering from a schedule back surgery.

Osaka

In somewhat surprising fashion, Sam Stosur rallied from a set down to defeat first time WTA finalist Eugenie Bouchard at the HP Open, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

En route to the final, Stosur only had to overcome one seed, teenager Madison Keys. Her opponent in the final, another teenager, looked well on her way to a straight set win when Stosur won seven of the last eight points in the second set to force a third. She never looked back.

“It's obviously great to win, but it feels better knowing you really had to fight for it,” said Stosur. “I'm really excited about my second title here, and also the first time to win two titles in a year. It's just great.”

Bouchard made her own history, reaching her first WTA final and is projected to surpass her career-high of 35. Not a bad week for a 19-year-old past Wimbledon junior champion.

Linz

Despite the controversy surrounding the last-minute addition of Angelique Kerber to the Linz draw, she blasted through the pack to claim her first season title at the Generali Ladies Linz tournament.

The top-seeded German defeated Ana Ivanovic in a performance of power and precision by both players, 6-4, 7-6(6). Thanks to her entry into the tournament, Kerber claimed the last spot for the WTA Championships to be held in Istanbul next week. Despite her loss in the final, Ivanovic had a nice run and should take only positives from the week.

“There were a lot of turnarounds from both sides, but she played better in the important points,” said Ivanovic. “I feel like I had more chances but just didn't use them. I hit some errors when I really needed the point. But it was a great match, ad though it's disappointing to lose in a final, I had lots of good matches this week and lots of good wins, and overall it was a very positive week for me.”

Tiburon Challenger

Back in the US, the ATP Challenger circuit continued in Tiburon, California, where Canadian Peter Polansky defeated No. 3 seed Matt Ebden, 7-5, 6-3.

With the win, the 25-year-old will move up 54 ranking spots to around 168 while Ebden will move six spots to No. 110. Also noteworthy? Donald Young continued his climb back up the rankings to near the top 100 as did Tim Smyczek, who will be the No. 3 American in Monday's new ATP rankings.

(Stosur photo courtesy of WTA; Polansky screenshot via @CanadaTennisNew)