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Held over because of heavy rain that drenched parts of
southern China over the weekend, Berdych maintained his
composure through another frustrating weather interruption to
win in straight sets.
"The last three days were tough especially mentally to keep
being very focused," the top-seeded Czech said in a post-match
interview.
"I was the one who dealt with that the best. I'm proud of myself
to make it happen because these conditions were not easy at
all."
The victory gave the 30-year-old Berdych his first ATP title
since last year's Stockholm Open. He has also reached three
other finals this year, at the Qatar Open, the Rotterdam Open
and the Monte Carlo Masters, but lost them all.
He made a strong start against Garcia-Lopez, racing into a 5-2
lead before play was halted for 45 minutes due to a downpour.
When the players returned Berdych closed out the opening set but
fell 3-1 behind in the second.
He managed to recover and force a tiebreak but had to save a set
point before sealing victory.
"It was another challenge to finally get the trophy," said
Berdych. "The tiebreak was really up and down but I think my
experience was decisive."
(Reporting by Julian Linden; Editing by Tony Jimenez)
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