Djokovic-Ferrer final postponed by rain

BEIJING, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Heavy rains Sunday led tournament organizers to postpone until Monday the final of the China Open between Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer.

The start of the match was delayed 4 1/2 hours and once play did commence, Djokovic managed an early break to go up 3-1 in the first set. However, after about 30 minutes, play was called Sunday.

Both players are looking for their second tournament titles of the year but a finals win in Beijing may mean more for Ferrer, the current world No. 9, than for Djokovic. A win in the semifinals Saturday allowed Djokovic to secure a spot in the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals. The only other player to have locked up a spot is world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who won the Japan Open title Sunday.

The finals is an event that take the highest eight ranked players available and if the ranking stay the same and no higher-ranked player drops out, Ferrer wouldn't win an invitation. The extra 500 rankings points that come with the China Open championship could help him move up the rankings and, perhaps, earn a berth in the ATP finals.