Kvitova throttles Ostapenko to win Wimbledon tuneup
EASTBOURNE, England (AP) — Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova tuned up for the Grand Slam tournament by overpowering Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 to win the Eastbourne title on Saturday.
Also, Taylor Fritz outlasted Maxime Cressy 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) in an all-American men's final for his second Eastbourne title.
Kvitova earned her first grasscourt title in four years — and 29th trophy of her singles career — after breaking Ostapenko, the defending champion, early in both sets of the final and feasting on the Latvian's second serve.
Kvitova saved five break points in the fourth game of the second set to stay in control of the match at 3-1.
“Playing on the grass is very special for me every time,” the Czech player said on court. “It's the best preparation for Wimbledon, as well.”
Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion in 2011 and 2014, begins another campaign on Tuesday against Jasmine Paolini of Italy.
She is 5-1 in grass-court finals. Her most recent was in 2018 in Birmingham.
The eighth-seeded Ostapenko, a Wimbledon semifinalist four years ago, won the 2017 French Open.
After the final, Ostapenko withdrew from the women's doubles final alongside Ukrainian partner Lyudmyla Kichenok because of a toe problem on her right foot. The walkover handed the title to Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia and Magda Linette of Poland.
Ostapenko is the 12th seed at Wimbledon and has a firstround match scheduled on Monday against Oceane Dodin of France.
Fritz could rely on his serve in his first meeting with Cressy. Fritz didn't face a break point in the final, he won 92% of his first serves, and launched 17 aces. Even so, it took him more than two hours to get on top of Cressy, who was playing his first ATP final. Fritz didn't drop his serve all week.
“My grass season wasn't going great before I arrived here,” Fritz said. "But it is great to beat these players and it gives me confidence. I played really well all week and going into Wimbledon, I feel good.”
Fritz, ranked 14th, won his third ATP title, second in Eastbourne beside 2019, and second this year after Indian Wells in March.
Fritz has drawn Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the first round of Wimbledon next week.
Cressy, ranked 60th, has sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada.
BAD HOMBURG, Germany (AP) — Caroline Garcia won her first title in three years after coming back from a set and a break down to beat 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 in the Bad Homburg Open final on Saturday.
Garcia took a medical timeout for what seemed to be a shoulder problem early in the second set. She then went 4-2 down before winning 10 of the next 14 games to seal the match.
“It was a fight (for) every point from the first to the last one,” Garcia said.
She is 8-3 in career finals but the Frenchwoman's last title was almost exactly three years ago in Nottingham in the buildup to 2019 Wimbledon.
Andreescu was looking for her first title since beating Serena Williams in the 2019 final at Flushing Meadows before injuries forced her to miss the entire 2020 season.
“I'm very happy. It's been a couple of rough years but, you know, I'm putting in the work and on to the next. I'm excited for Wimbledon,” said Andreescu, who became visibly emotional while thanking her team. “You guys stuck with me through the toughest moments and that's all anyone could ever ask for.”
The Canadian has drawn Zhang Shuai of China in the first round of Wimbledon next week. Garcia has Yuriko Miyazaki of Britain for her opener.