TOKYO -- Third-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia beat second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-2, 7-6 (2) on Sunday to win the Pan Pacific Open and capture her fourth WTA title of the year.
In a match that featured two former World No. 1s, Ivanovic broke Wozniacki three times in the first set at Ariake Coliseum and won the second-set tiebreaker with a forehand to the corner to capture her first Pan Pacific title.
"The key for me was coming forward to the net,'' Ivanovic said. "She is a great offensive player and gets a lot of balls back so it was important for me to come forward and play well at the net.''
Ivanovic, who is No. 8 in the rankings, did not drop a set en route to Sunday's final.
US Open finalist Wozniacki, who won this tournament in 2010, had her serve broken to go down 3-2 in the first set and then lost the next three games as Ivanovic seized the momentum.
Wozniacki broke serve for a 3-1 second set lead and was up 30-15 in the fourth game, just two points from a 4-1 lead. But Ivanovic came storming back, winning five of the next eight games to push the set to a tiebreak, where she played almost flawlessly.
Ivanovic first played at the Pan Pacific eight years ago when she finished runner-up, her best result before Sunday's win.
"I've always enjoyed coming here,'' Ivanovic said. "This is a great event and winning today puts me one step closer to the WTA Finals in Singapore.
With the win in Tokyo, Ivanovic is projected to move from No. 8 to No. 5 in the rankings, and with eight players qualifying for the Singapore event, she has a good chance of making it.