Photographs: Getty Images
Petra Kvitova has stormed to the WTA 500 title in Eastbourne with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over defending champion and eight-seed Jelena Ostapenko for the 29th singles title of her career.
It was a dominant week in Eastbourne for the Czech who dropped just one set throughout her tournament that included a win over one of the more in-form players on tour in Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Kvitova was the more consistent player on Saturday, notching 18 winners to just 12 unforced errors in a victory that secured her first piece of silverware in over a year.
"I’m very delighted, of course, after a special final," Kvitova said post-match. "I know that Jelena is playing well here on grass, the defending champion, so I was really prepared for that fast, aggressive game which she really played.”
“It was a good match from both of us, I think."
The 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion will kick off her 2022 campaign against Italian Jasmine Paolini on Tuesday. Kvitova has won both of their previous meetings in straight sets.
2018 Wimbledon semi-finalist Ostapenko will hope to open her account with a win when she meets France’s Oceane Dodin.
Also on Saturday, the Bad Homburg Open concluded and it was Caroline Garcia who came out on top following a marathon 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 win over Bianca Andreescu.
The victory marks the eighth career singles title of the Frenchwoman’s career and her first in more than three years.
2019 US Open champion, Andreescu, led 7-6(5), 4-2 before Garcia flipped the switch. ‘Caro’ would go on to win 10 of the final 14 games of the match on her way to the title.
It wasn’t the first dramatic match of Garcia’s week in Bad Homburg though. The two-time French Open doubles champion rallied from a set down against Aliaskandra Sasnovich in round one and saved a match point in her semi-final win over countrywoman Alize Cornet.
Despite the loss, it was still a strong week for Andreescu. The Canadian notched wins over French Open semi-finalists Martina Trevisan and Daria Kasatkina on her way to the final.
Garcia will meet British wildcard Yuriko Miyazaki in the first round of Wimbledon while Andreescu is set to clash with American qualifier Emina Bektas.
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