LINZ, Austria – It’s hard to say Petra Kvitova has been in a slump since Wimbledon, but she certainly hasn’t played her best tennis until this week. She was 5-5 in her last 10 matches before the International-level Generali Ladies Linz tournament. Her power game seemed to be suited well for the fast indoor courts of Linz.
#1 seed Kvitova took down the #8 seed Daniela Hantuchova in the quarterfinals, #3 seed Jelena Jankovic inthe semi final, and #7 seed Dominika Cibulkova in the final to take her fifth WTA title of her career-best season.
“I was fighting for every point this week,” Kvitova said. “The semifinal with Jelena was tough, but it was very nice tennis from both of us. I played my best at the end of it – it was a very good match. And the first set with Dominika was very close. I know how well she plays and I knew I had to play well to beat her.
“I had to play very well on the big points today. Of course I’m very happy I won.”
Linz is Kvitova’s sixth WTA title, her first coming in 2009 (Hobart) and four more in the first half of 2011 (Brisbane, Paris [Indoors], Madrid and Wimbledon).
Kvitova will now have a week off before going to the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships. “I’m going to go home and have one week of preparation, then I’m going to Istanbul on Saturday. I’m just going to practice at home this week. I’m really looking forward to my first Championships and going to Istanbul.”
Cibulkova, 22, fell to 0-3 in WTA finals, finishing runner-up twice in 2008, to Maria Sharapova at Amelia Island and to Dinara Safina at Montréal. She has lost all three finals in straight sets and is one of only two Top 30 players without a WTA title (the other player is Peng Shuai, who is 0-4 in WTA finals).
On the doubles side of things the #4 seeds Marina Erakovic and Elena Vesnina won the doubles title with a 7-5, 6-1 win over unseeded German duo of Julia Goerges and Anna-Lena Groenefeld. It was Erakovic and Vesnina’s first WTA title together; Erakovic now has five WTA doubles titles to her name, Vesnina six.
Well done to Petra. Good to see her regaining her form.