The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Kvitova wins third title in New Haven
Early on, the Connecticut Open championship was as evenly matched as the outfits the pair finalists were wearing. The two left-handed Czechs, No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova and fourthseeded Lucie Safarova, both sported red skirts with white tops and red headbands.
But as the match wore on — just as she has done all tournament long — Kvitova wore down her opponent, got into a groove and proved why she is one of the best players in the world.
Kvitova is the New Haven champion for the second straight year, toppling Safarova 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2 in front of 3,507 Saturday at the Connecticut Tennis Center. She earns the winner’s purse of $128,250.
“She’s a big hitter,” Safarova said. “She puts a lot of pressure
on you.”
Saturday marked Kvitova’s fourth straight New Haven final appearance. She joins Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki (both have won four) as the only three-time winners at New Haven. Kvitova, who boasts a 16-2 record at the tournament, lost to Simona Halep in the 2013 final.
After falling in a tiebreaker in the opening set, Kvitova broke Safarova’s serve for the first time in the third game of the second set. She rolled from there. Kvitova went on to win 10 of the final 13 games and held her serve throughout the entire match.
Safarova’s effective serve keyed the first-set win. But she said she had trouble with Kvitova’s power and big-hitting game. She began making mistakes and started feeling fatigued. Meanwhile, Kvitova just got better and the confidence grew.
Kvitova has now won all seven matches against her Czech mate.
It was still a good run for Safarova, who reached her third final of 2015. She is having a career year and cracked the top 10 for the first time.
“I really enjoyed the week,” she said. “It was fun here. I got plenty of matches, plenty of hours on the court, which helps for the Open. Hopefully, it’ll transfer over there.”
As for Kvitova, a tournament like this was much needed. It was a rough summer for the two-time Wimbledon champion. She was diagnosed with mononucleosis and suffered three straight losses before arriving in New Haven. She put together a string of impressive wins, knocking off rising American Madison Keys, No. 15 Agnieszka Radwanska and a pair of top 10 players in Wozniacki and Safarova.
“It’s the first time I defended a title, so it’s really great to have these kind of experiences,” Kvitova said. “I’m really pleased with it. I didn’t really come here with a good kind of confidence and game and everything. But everything turned around. I have it again. So it’s great to feel better before the U.S. Open for sure.”
But the final Grand Slam of the year is not a place she’s had much luck. She prefers a quieter tournament like New Haven and struggles with the humidity in New York. Two trips to the round of 16 are her best finishes and she was stunned in the third round last year by qualifier Aleksandra Krunic.
“I hope one day everything will set together and hopefully I will do well over there,” she said.
Kvitova opens up U.S. Open play with German Laura Siegemund.
Tournament director Anne Worcester said Kvitova is very comfortable in New Haven, thriving in the calm before the U.S. Open storm. She was pleasantly surprised with her level of tennis this week, considering all she’s gone through this summer.
So will Kvitova be back in New Haven to defend her title once again?
“Yes,” she said with a smile. “I will.”
Goerges, Hradecka win doubles title
Julia Goerges and Lucie Hradecka captured the Connecticut Open doubles title earlier in the day with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over ChiaJung Chuang and Chen Liang.
It was the second time the tandem played together. They lost in the second round at Eastbourne earlier this year. Goerges’ baseline play and Hradecka’s play up front keyed the run in New Haven.
“We had some pretty good matches, good wins here,” Goerges said. “We tried to keep the momentum going, trying to play our game, being aggressive and just take it right away from them. That’s what we managed to do well.”