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WTA roundup: Pliskova snaps Osaka streak for title

Tennis - Pan Pacific Open Women's Singles Final match - Arena Tachikawa Tachihi, Tokyo, Japan - September 23, 2018. Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic returns ball to Naomi Osaka of Japan. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova handed U.S. Open champ Naomi Osaka a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to claim the title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. It ended the third-seeded Osaka's 10-match victory streak, dating back to the start of the U.S. Open. The title is the 11th of Pliskova's career and her fifth straight triumph in a final. "First of all my serve was very good today - I was able to hold all my service games, so that was the key," said Pliskova, who needed just 63 minutes to dispatch Osaka. Osaka, 20, was searching for her third career title -- both previous titles having come this season. Osaka and Pliskova had faced off twice before, each winning once. KEB Hana Bank Korea Open Second-seeded Kiki Bertens picked up her third title of 2018, outlasting Croatia's Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6 (2), 5-6, 6-2 at the KEB Hana Bank Korea Open in Seoul, South Korea. The 26-year-old Bertens, the first Dutch player to reach a final in Seoul, earned her seventh career title with the victory. "I knew I had to play good to win today," said Bertens. "She's a great fighter and she showed that this week. I knew I had to play aggressive and make her move around the court, to play with all the energy I had in me and to be positive all the time - that was the goal." The unseeded Tomljanovic, 25, is still looking for her first career title. She's 0-3 in finals for her career. Bertens beat Tomljanovic in three sets at the 2017 French Open in their only other meeting. --Field Level Media