Timely Wimbledon boost for Czech ace
EASTBOURNE: Petra Kvitova warmed up for Wimbledon by winning the Eastbourne singles title for the first time with a 6-3, 6-2 rout of Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday.
Kvitova needed just 77 minutes to finish off former French Open champion Ostapenko as the Czech veteran produced the kind of dominant grasscourt tennis that earned her two Wimbledon titles.
The 32-year-old, who lost the 2011 Eastbourne final to Marion Bartoli, ended Ostapenko’s reign as the women’s champion at Devonshire Park in emphatic fashion, demolishing the Latvian with her booming serve and fierce forehands.
“I had already experienced losing in a final, so I guess I am lucky. Playing on the grass is very special for me, especially when you step onto a beautiful court such as here,” Kvitova said.
“It’s really nice to play in front of the people again; in the pandemic it was a really tough time, it’s such a better feeling.”
Kvitova’s 29th career singles title is a major confidence boost ahead of her Wimbledon first round meeting with Italian Jasmine Paolini.
Former world No.2 Kvitova claimed the first of her two Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2011 and won there again three years later.
The Czech last reached a Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in 2019.
A bad day for Ostapenko got even worse when a toe injury forced her to withdraw from the women’s doubles final, with Aleksandra Krunic and Magda Linette taking the title in a walkover.
In the men’s singles final, world No.14 Taylor Fritz won his all-American clash with Maxime Cressy.
The 24-year-old, who also won Eastbourne in 2019, held his nerve in the final set tie-break to take the title with a 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/4) victory.
GARCIA ENDS DROUGHT
World No.75 Caroline Garcia warmed up for Wimbledon by coming from a set down to beat Bianca Andreescu 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the WTA event in Bad Homburg on Saturday.
It was the 28-year-old French player’s eighth career title and her first since Nottingham in 2019.
The former world No.4 dropped the opening set as the Canadian Andreescu edged a tie-break.
Garcia came back though to break twice in the second set before clinching the match in a third set when both players struggled to hold their service.
Garcia will face British-Japanese world No.206 Yuriko Miyazaki in the opening round at Wimbledon while Andreescu faces American qualifier Emina Bektas.
TSITSIPAS’ BREAKTHROUGH
Stefanos Tsitsipas said that his victory in the final of the Mallorca Championships on Saturday was a major milestone in his career as the Greek claimed his maiden grasscourt title leading up to Wimbledon next week.
World No.6 Tsitsipas, who has only enjoyed moderate success on grass, toppled Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) in a major boost ahead of Wimbledon, where the 23-year-old has never gone past the fourth round.
“It has been a very important and a really wanted win on grass. I won tournaments on clay and hardcourts previously,” said Tsitsipas, who will take on Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard in the first round at the All England Club.
“Today was probably the most important day of the year for me to be able to get a title that I really wanted.”
Tsitsipas suffered defeats by Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios earlier in the grasscourt swing but found his range against Bautista Agut, who tried to mount a comeback in the decider after going down 4-1 but was undone by his opponent’s superior quality.
“This was an incredible fight and an incredible battle. I know it can be difficult for one person to deal with the loss, but I think for tennis it is great that we are able to play at this high level,” added Tsitsipas.