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Djokovic retains Toronto title with easy final win over Gasquet

updated 12:45 PM EDT, Mon August 13, 2012
Serbia's Novak Djokovic lost his place at the top of the world rankings to Roger Federer last month.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic lost his place at the top of the world rankings to Roger Federer last month.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Novak Djokovic retains his Rogers Cup title in Toronto
  • The five-time grand slam winner beat Richard Gasquet in straight sets
  • China's Li Na is back in the top 10 after reaching the semifinal in the women's draw
  • The 2011 French Open champion will play Petra Kvitova in Monday's final

(CNN) -- Former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic retained his Rogers Cup title in Toronto by defeating French 14th seed Richard Gasquet 6-3 6-2.

The Serb, who lost his position at the top of the world rankings following Roger Federer's Wimbledon triumph, did not drop a set during the defense of the championship he won during his dominant 2011 season.

The five-time major winner took advantage of all three break points he earned during the match to wrap up victory in just over an hour.

Djokovic was pleased to have bounced back after a disappointing loss to Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in the recent bronze medal match at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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"It's a big tournament, one of the biggest we have in tennis," Djokovic told the ATP Tour's official website after securing his 31st career title. "I'm very happy to be in this position.

"I truly did not expect myself to win this tournament after the emotional losses in the Olympic Games. I really took it hard. I tried to bounce back and recover; I've done great, I have to say."

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Having also won the Rogers Cup title in 2007, Djokovic became only the third Open era player to win the event at least three times, following in the footsteps of Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi.

"I'm not one of the biggest servers in the game, that's for sure, but I always try to focus on the second shot after the serve," said the 25-year-old Serb, who has won seven of the eight matches he has played against Gasquet.

"I've been working on the efficiency of my first and second serve, but also trying to be aggressive in the first ball. It's been working exceptionally well throughout the whole week."

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In the women's draw, Li Na ensured she will return to the top 10 of the world rankings by coming back from 5-1 down in the final set to beat Lucie Safarova 3-6 6-3 7-5.

China's 2011 French Open champion will play Safarova's compatriot Petra Kvitova in Monday's final, after last year's Wimbledon winner defeated former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

"In the beginning I was trying to shoot as hard as I could, and I was making a lot of mistakes -- so I knew I had to start putting the ball back in the court more," Li told the WTA Tour's official website.

"This is tennis. You have to put the ball over the net and back in the court. It looks easy, but sometimes it can be hard to do.

"When I was 5-1 down, I thought if I shot hard four in a row, I'd lose the match. So I had to change a little bit. I was just trying to take it point by point.

"When I got back to 5-4, my serve game, I think it was more exciting for the fans. They were supporting me a lot. I'm happy I could win the match."

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