Petra Kvitova eased to her second Madrid Open title when she beat an unwell Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-2 in the final on Saturday.
A day after ending Serena Williams’ unbeaten start to the year, Kvitova’s powerful ground-strokes and fitness overwhelmed her Russian rival to add the championship to her 2011 victory.
“It was an amazing week for me and I’m really happy to stand here for the second time, in this beautiful court,” Kvitova said after her 16th career WTA Tour title.
Photo: Reuters
Kuznetsova looked off color, called for a physiotherapist twice and was visited by the tournament doctor. Just before the final game, she was allowed by the chair umpire to go to the dressing room.
At the award presentation, Kuznetsova, who took out defending champion Maria Sharapova the day before, apologized in Spanish to the spectators because she had not been able to play a good match.
“I’m sorry the level wasn’t very high, but I promise to come next year and play better,” said Kuznetsova, raising a cheer.
In the men’s singles, Rafael Nadal reached his seventh final at the Madrid Open by defeating Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7/3), 6-1.
Yet to drop a set this week, Nadal was yesterday due to face 2008 champion Andy Murray, who eliminated last year’s finalist Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4.
Nadal has won the previous two Madrid Opens and was attempting to win his fifth overall.
He found the lines against Berdych, who beat him in the Australian Open quarter-finals, down both lanes with unerring accuracy and forced Berdych to cover a lot of ground.
Nadal thanked the cheering fans, saying: “You don’t know what this means to me.”
He said when he arrived in Madrid he was not sure he would be able to pass the first round, but that Saturday’s match was the best he had played all year.
He ended a nine-month title drought with victory in February in Buenos Aires and traveled to Madrid having lost to Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo semi-finals and Fabio Fognini in the third round in Barcelona.
Three losses on clay this year were his most in a single season in 12 years.
Nadal, 15-5 up on Murray, was due to meet the Scot for the first time since last year’s French Open semi-finals.
“I’d imagine most of the crowd will be for Rafa. You know, I’m a great fan of his, he is a great competitor,” Murray said. “It’s going to be a great test for me.”
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB