Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion, claimed her 30th WTA singles title with a straight sets victory over Elena Rybakina at the Miami Open on Saturday.
The victory, which came after a tight, serve-dominated battle, saw Kvitova triumph 7-6 (16/14) 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium. Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, came into the final on a career-best 13-match winning streak after winning the title at Indian Wells and was looking for the rare “Sunshine Double” of both WTA 1000 events. However, Kvitova drew on all her experience to secure the win and return to the top 10 in the world rankings.
The match was a serve-dominated battle until Kvitova broke to go 5-4 up, but Rybakina immediately broke back. That set up a tie-break, and despite Rybakina’s confidence with her 7-0 perfect record in tie-break contests this season, Kvitova’s determination proved to be stronger. 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, who is 11 years her junior, back into the contest. Rybakina couldn’t 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 won 78 percent of her service points (52 of 67) and finished with 29 winners to 14 unforced errors. Rybakina fired 12 aces in the match and became the first player since Serena Williams at 2016 Wimbledon to hit 10 or more aces in six consecutive matches in a single tournament.
Kvitova, who has now 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. Kvitova now has nine WTA 1000 titles, and the victory at Miami Open will boost her confidence heading into the clay court season.
Rybakina is part of a talented new generation on the WTA Tour, along with world number one 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.
Kvitova’s victory at the Miami Open shows that age is just a number, and experience can be a significant factor in winning big tournaments. “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,” added the Czech. Kvitova’s win is a testament to her hard work, dedication, and perseverance, and she has proved that she is still a force to be reckoned with on the WTA.
