Petra Kvitova has won her 31th career's WTA title by defeating Donna Vekic in Sunday's final of WTA 500 bett1open in Berlin. It is also 6th tournament won by the Czech on grass surface.
Kvitova was flawless this week, as she approached the final match without losing a set despite facing top class players in previous rounds. Vekic has also performed very well in Berlin, as she defeated two top 10 players on the road, including the victory over the reigning Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina in second round.
The Czech was a pre-match favorite with an odd 1.48 and this final has opened very well for her, as she took the opening set with a score 6-2. It was a competitive match though, as Vekic was the first player to produce a breakpoint during the score 2-2. The Croatian did not convert it and Kvitova has put a pressure just a while after, breaking her opponent twice in a row to win a set.
Vekic did not give up while being a set down and started the second set much better, breaking her favorized opponent for the first time this afternoon in 3rd game. The Croatian could even double her advantage and move up into 4-1 lead, but Kvitova held her service game in an important moment to save the chances of coming back in second set. Vekic did not manage to serve for the set in 10th game, as Kvitova broke back and forced the tiebreak as a result. Both the players had chances there, as Vekic had a setpoint during Kvitova's serve with a score 6-5, but the double Wimbledon champion won 3 points in a row to secure the victory, winning 6-2 7-6(6) eventually.
It was a really high quality and competitive performance from both the players, despite no emotions delivered in the form of settlement in the dramatic three-setter. Both the players had a positive ratio of winners and unforced errors. Kvitova had a brilliant 27 winners in compare to just 17 errors. These were better amounts than performed by her opponent, but Vekic has also impressed with 25 winners scored and just 21 unforced errors commited.
Petra Kvitova has proved her great class on lawn surface, as the victory in Berlin is some kind of breakthrough after difficult weeks for the Czech. After winning in WTA 1000 Miami Open, Kvitova has suffered injury issues and did not win any single match on clay. The switch for grass was vital for the double Wimbledon champion, who feel on grass like in the natural environment, and is definitely in the group of major contenders for the title fight in London.
Donna Vekic has capitalised on approaching the final of grass tournament for the first time in her career. The Croatian has came back into top 20 of WTA rankings, moving up into 20th place, just one spot away of equalling her career's highest rank. Kvitova stays in 9th place, as she had to defend 500 points for the last year's victory in Eastbourne.
Both the players plan to play another one tournament in last week before the Wimbledon Championships. Kvitova moves to Eastbourne, where she won last year and starts her title defence campaign from an absolute hit clash against Jelena Ostapenko. It's a revenge for the last year's final where Kvitova defeated the Latvian in straight sets. Besides that, Ostapenko has also won WTA 250 tournament in Birmingham, which was played in parallel this week. Vekic moves to Germany to play in WTA 250 event in Bad Homburg, where she is scheduled to play against Emma Navarro in the opening round.
