Kvitova topples Muguruza in Qatar for second straight victory

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Petra Kvitova continued her remarkable comeback by beating Garbine Muguruza in the Qatar Open final on Sunday for her 13th straight win and second consecutive title.

The 27-year-old Czech, a two-time Wimbledon champion, needed another three-setter to beat the fourth-seeded Spaniard 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was Kvitova's sixth win over a top10 player in 2018.

Kvitova, who beat topranked Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in the semifinals, will return to the top 10 rankings on Monday for the first time since she was the victim of a knife attack in her home in December 2016 that led to a lengthy layoff.

It was Kvitova's 22nd career title and came two weeks after she triumphed in St. Petersburg.

"I couldn't really dream about it one year ago when I was in total different position trying to come back and play. For me, it's something that's amazing. I couldn't really wish for more," said Kvitova, who extended her head-tohead record with Muguruza to 4-1.

The 16th-seeded Kvitova made a scratchy start, losing her first service game with two double faults to go 2-0 down. She then had two more double faults in the fourth game to get broken again, and was trailing 5-0 when she won three games in a row before losing the first set.

The momentum shifted toward Kvitova in the third game of the second set. She first saved a break-point at 30-40 with a backhand winner after doing all the running, and then held her serve with an ace.