Flawless Iga Swiatek powers past Liudmila Samsonova to claim Beijing title

Swiatek shed tears of joy after her 69-minute masterclass, which left the four-time Grand Slam champion 465 points behind the top-ranked Sabalenka and with a big chance to leapfrog the Belarusian at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.

The season finale, where the top eight singles players and doubles teams in the world face off, begins on October 29th.

Beijing debutant Swiatek was handed the first break of the clash in the sixth game when Samsonova produced a double fault and she then wrapped up the opening set without committing a single unforced error.

Swiatek's superb serve proved to be her biggest ally as she never faced a break point and raced ahead 4-1 in the second set before completing the win with ease for her 16th title overall as Samsonova made another error at the net.

"I'm very happy. For sure, it was the last thing I expected at the beginning of the tournament," Swiatek said. "This match today, even though the score makes it seem like it was easy, it wasn't. It was really intense and Liudmila put pressure on me.

"I'm happy that I was solid and consistent and till the end I could keep my focus. At the end I felt really grateful for the support I get from my team because the last two weeks were not easy. So I was happy."

French Open champion Swiatek also became the first player since American Serena Williams to claim five or more titles in successive seasons.

Swiatek also became the player with the most WTA 1000 titles before turning 23 with six, eclipsing Caroline Wozniacki's five.

Samsonova said she would have liked to put up more of a fight in the final but was pleased with her display through the tournament.

"It was an amazing week," said Samsonova, whose run to a second WTA 1000 final of the season ensured she will return to the top 20.

"I was in Tokyo last week and not playing my best tennis, but here I showed some decent tennis and I'm happy for this."