St Petersburg: Double Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova captured the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy here Sunday evening for her first title of the year, beating defending champion Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-2 in the final. This was the Czech player’s second title on the WTA circuit after returning from a stabbing injury she suffered in December 2016.
Kvitova, who entered the tournament as a wild card, was dominant in the opening exchanges and hit 16 winners in taking the first set. The 27-year-old broke her French opponent’s serve twice more in the second set to seal the match in just over an hour.
“This was a special tournament for me,” Kvitova said in her on-court interview. “All week, I played unbelievable matches and I really had to fight to make the final. It is not easy at the beginning of the year. I had to focus hard for the win.”
The left-hander gave few opportunities on her serve to Mladenovic, firing nine aces and saving all three breakpoints faced in front of a buoyant Sibur Arena crowd. She was also dominant during the mid-court rallies and proved a tough nut to crack for Mladenovic.
The victory meant Kvitova maintained her streak of winning at least one WTA title since 2011 and now moves back up to World No.21. Before she was robbed and stabbed, Kvitova’s best ranking was No.2 in the women’s singles which she achieved in October 2011.
