BANGKOK (AFP) ― Britain’s Andy Murray hammered Donald Young of America 6-2, 6-0 in an awesome show of power on Sunday to win the ATP Thailand open, his third title of the season.

The top-seeded Scot, 24, crushed any faint hopes of first-time finalist Young, ranked 55th, with a dominating performance, romping to victory in just 47 minutes.

“I barely made any errors. I was able to take all of my opportunities. It was a great match for me,” said Murray, who lost the first final he played in Bangkok in 2005 when he went down to Roger Federer.

This time Murray himself used all his experience against Young, who will still rise to a career-best placing inside the Top 50 in Monday’s rankings despite his resounding defeat.

“I played very well today, by far my best match of the tournament,” said Murray, winner of 19 career titles.

“I made it difficult for him to do anything. He picked up a bit in the middle of the first set but by the second I was in control,” he said.

Murray allowed Young only two winning games on serve, with the Scot breaking five times in the 47-minute rout. Murray fired five aces and advanced on the first of three match points as a Young return sailed long.

The win was the second in a month for Murray against Young after victory against him at the U.S. Open. That win followed a shock defeat for Murray at the hands of the American in Indian Wells earlier this year.

Young, 22, admitted he had been well-beaten by an in-form Murray.

“This was my first final, I wasn’t nervous, but he just took me out of my game. I still can’t be disappointed about the week, getting to the top 50 has been one of my goals. He played very well and I couldn’t do much.”

Murray now travels to Tokyo to play in a field featuring Rafael Nadal. He said that despite his success this week, nothing is guaranteed on court.

“It’s a big change of surface and Tokyo’s not that close,” he said, referring to jet lag. “I may have to be realistic in my expectations a bit.

“But this was a great week for me and it helps to begin the Asian swing like this.”

China netizens slam Li Na after shock defeat

BEIJING (AFP) ― Chinese netizens on Monday slammed tennis star Li Na, accusing the French Open champion of taking herself too seriously and not working hard enough after she suffered a humiliating defeat on home turf.

Li ― who became China’s darling after she made history in Paris in June as the first Asian to win a Grand Slam singles title ― was defeated 6-4, 6-0 on Sunday in the first round of the China Open.

“She became a champion, and then she was flooded with advertising deals and hundreds of millions in income, so where is the time to train?” one poster said, commenting on a report about Li’s defeat on a popular news portal.

Brands such as automobile firm Mercedes-Benz, luxury watchmaker Rolex and ice cream manufacturer Haagen-Dazs, as well as sports giant Nike, have signed Li to be the face of their goods in China.

“It’s not strange (her defeat) because it’s surprising she won before ― and anyway she’s been taking herself really seriously recently,” another online user said.

Li, currently the world number five, lost against unheralded Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu in just under 90 minutes in front of stunned home fans in Beijing.