Nadal claims second China Open title after 12 years

World number one Rafael Nadal beat Australian Nick Kyrgios 6-2, 6-1 to claim his second China Open title after 12 years on a rainy Sunday night in Beijing.

Nadal's previous win was in 2005 when he beat Argentine Guillermo Coria in three sets. It is also Nadal's sixth title of the season.

The Spaniard took only 92 minutes to defeat Kyrgios, taking revenge from the Cincinnati Masters courts where he lost to the 22-year-old in the quarter-finals.

Kyrgios was hindered by his own inconsistency and rarely troubled the top seed.

The world-ranked 19 displayed his best side in forcing Nadal to 2-2 in the first set, but his other side emerged later.

He was given a warning from the umpire from the first game of the match for something he said. The disgruntled Kyrgio just wouldn't let it go and finally collected a penalty point as his title hopes quickly evaporated.

He eventually lost the chance to land his first title of the season losing to Nadal.

The victory marks the first time since 2013 that Nadal has won at least six titles in a year and puts him ahead of Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev, who have both won five each this season.

The loss dented Kyrgios's chances of making it to the season-ending ATP finals as he stands 20th in the Race to London standings.

(CGTN)