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David Ferrer (pictured) strengthened his position at No. 6 in the ATP 2007 Race to Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 3 seed Richard Gasquet of France at the AIG Japan Open on Sunday.

The top-seeded Spaniard required just 52 minutes to wrap up his fifth career ATP title and third crown of 2007, following successes at Auckland (d. Robredo) and Bastad (d. Almagro).

The 25-year-old raced through the first set in 21 minutes and broke the Gasquet serve in the second and eighth games of the second set en route to 55th victory of the year. Ferrer improves to 5-3 lifetime in ATP finals.

Ferrer is the first Spaniard to win the Tokyo title since Manuel Orantes in 1977 (d. Warwick). He collected $145,000 in prize money.

The Valencia resident now has 424 points in the ATP 2007 Race to Shanghai. The top eight players at the end of the regular ATP season on November 4 will qualify for the circuit-ending Tennis Masters Cup, to be held November 11-18 in Shanghai, China.

Gasquet was hoping to win back-to-back ATP titles, having clinched his fifth career ATP title at Mumbai (d. O. Rochus) last week. The Frenchman also finished runner-up at Estoril (l. to Djokovic) in May.

The 21-year-old Gasquet is projected to rise to No. 9 in the ATP 2007 Race to Shanghai, when the new rankings are issued on Monday.

He has a 44-19 season record and is now 5-5 lifetime in ATP finals.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Ferrer: "This is very special, it is my second hard-court title after Auckland and Tokyo is such a big event. Richard was a little bit tired today and did not play as well as he could."

"It's great to be the first Spaniard to win here after Manuel Orantes (in 1975), it's been such a long time. Nice to see my name on the trophy next to some tennis stars."

"(Trying to qualify for Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai) gives me an extra motivation for the last few events to play this year. I know I am close but I have not qualified yet so I must concentrate on every match and keep winning."

Gasquet: "I was a bit tired after winning last week but (David) is playing really well and gave me no chance. I knew the start would be very important and he broke me right away which made it difficult for me."

"I know I have a chance to qualify for Shanghai and the next (ATP) Masters Series in Madrid and Paris will decide everything."

AIG Japan Open: Tournament Profile

Saturday: Shanghai Hopes Ferrer, Gasquet to Meet in Final
Friday: Karlovic Joins 1,000 Aces Club, Upsets Hewitt
Thursday: Top Seeds Advance to Tokyo Quarterfinals
Wednesday: Shanghai Hope Ferrer into Third Round
Tuesday: Lee, Navarro First into Reach Third Round
Tuesday: Ferrer Takes Part in Tea Ceremony
Monday: Former Champion Moodie Advances
Build-up: Del Potro Embraces Samurai Culture

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