David Ferrer strengthened his Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai qualification with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 3 seed Richard Gasquet of France at the AIG Japan Open in Tokyo.
The top-seeded Spaniard needed just 52 minutes to capture his fifth career ATP title and third crown of 2007, following victories at Auckland (d. Robredo) and Bastad (d. Almagro).
"This is very special, it is my second hard-court title after Auckland and Tokyo is such a big event," said Ferrer who is 5-3 is ATP finals. "Richard was a little bit tired today and did not play as well as he could."
The 25-year-old Ferrer raced through the first set in just 21 minutes and broke the Gasquet serve in the second and eighth game of the second set en route to his 55th match victory of the year.
Ferrer is the first Spaniard to win the Tokyo title since Manuel Orantes in 1977 (d. Warwick). He collected $145,000 in prize money.
The Valencia resident now has 424 points in the ATP 2007 Race to Shanghai.
Gasquet was hoping to win back-to-back ATP titles, having clinched his fifth career ATP title at Mumbai (d. O. Rochus) last week. The Frenchman also finished runner-up at Estoril (l. to Djokovic) in May.
"I was a bit tired after winning last week but (David) is playing really well and gave me no chance," said Gasquet who will rise to No. 9 in the ATP Race. "I knew the start would be very important and he broke me right away which made it difficult for me."
Gasquet is 44-19 on the year, and now 5-5 lifetime in ATP finals. (ATP Digital Services)
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