Mon, Apr 03, 2023 page16

• Kvitova defeats Rybakina for 30th title

  STILL GOT IT: Kvitova said she tapped into her years of finals experience to overcome her hard-hitting opponent, who is 11 years younger and part of a new wave of stars

  • AFP, MIAMI GARDENS, Florida
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  Petra Kvitova on Saturday drew on all her experience to claim her 30th WTA singles title with a straight sets Miami Open victory over Elena Rybakina.

  Czech Kvitova, appearing in her first Miami final at the age of 33, triumphed 7-6 (16/14), 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium, a victory which would return the two-time Wimbledon champion to the top 10 in the world rankings.

  Rybakina came into the final on a career-best 13-match winning streak after winning the title at the BNP Paribas Open and was looking for the rare “Sunshine Double” of both WTA 1000 events.

  

  Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, right, poses with the Butch Buchholz Trophy after defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, left, during the women’s final of the Miami Open in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday.

  Photo: AFP

  It was a tight, serve-dominated battle until Kvitova broke to go 5-4 up, but Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, immediately broke back.

  That set up a tie-break and having a 7-0 perfect record in those contests this season, reigning Wimbledon champion Rybakina would have been confident of her chances, but Kvitova’s serve was strong and her determination stronger still.

  The tie-break was a thrilling 22-minute, 28-second, 30-point shoot-out in which Kvitova saved five set points to emerge triumphant when Rybakina hit a return into the net.

  Kvitova, a left-handed player, took that momentum into the second set, breaking early to go 2-0 up and from then on she never looked like letting her opponent, 11 years her junior, back into the contest.

  Rybakina could not convert a break point in the next game, and then she herself was broken again when serving to stay in the match at 5-2 down.

  Kvitova, who has won 30 of 41 career finals, said the tie-break, which saw each player have five set points, had turned the contest in her direction.

  “That was deciding the whole match for sure. I think it was the longest one I ever played in my life. Nothing is easy hanging out with Elena,” she said.

  She hit “so many aces at the beginning of the tie-break, I was like: ‘Oh my God.’ I couldn’t even play, so it was a little difficult,” added Kvitova, who now has nine WTA 1000 titles.

  Rybakina is part of a talented new generation on the WTA Tour, along with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, but Kvitova said she had been able to draw on her greater experience.

  “I think it has played a good role in my mind. I have played so many finals. I know I can play well in a final, no matter who I am facing. So mentally that was important for me to know that,” she said.

  “Of course this means a lot, that at my age I can still win big tournaments, the young ones are coming up all the time, it’s tough to face them all the time, it’s very tiring,” the Czech added.
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