Kvitova struggles but gets third Madrid win

When Petra Kvitova thought she couldn’t go on, the Czech hit the critical shots to finally edge Kiki Bertens and claim a record third Madrid Open title on Saturday.

Kvitova outlasted Bertens 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3 in a grueling final decided when the unseeded Dutch player hit a backhand long on the final point after nearly three hours.

“Everything that I had in my body, I just tried to put it out, even if it was very, very tough today,” said Kvitova, who was playing her 11th match in 13 days after also winning the Prague Open last weekend.

Kvitova previously won on the Madrid clay in 2011 and 2015 and was her fourth title in the first five months of 2018.

On the men’s side, second-seeded Alexander Zverev brushed aside Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-1 to reach the final. Zverev will face Dominic Thiem after he beat Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-2.

Cycling

CARAPAZ ATTACK NETS STAGE WIN >> Richard Carapaz pulled off a superb final attack to win the eighth stage of the Giro d’Italia, while British rider Simon Yates remained in the overall lead after the second mountain finish of the race in Montevergine, Italy. Carapaz stormed up the end of the final climb to pass Koen Bouwman, who led for most of the day, and the Ecuador cyclist claimed his first win in a Grand Tour.

Yates, the Briton who won the young rider classification at last year’s Tour de France, retained his 16-second advantage over defending champion Tom Dumoulin.

Hockey

CANADA DROPS TO FOURTH >> Canada’s bid for a third title in four years suffered another blow at the ice hockey world championship when it lost to Finland 5-1 in Herning, Denmark. Also, Russia rebounded from a defeat to the Czech Republic by topping Switzerland 4-3.

Finland jumped to second in Group B with 12 points, one behind the United States. Denmark is another point back in third, and Canada remains on 10 in fourth place followed by Latvia with nine. The first four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals.

Boxing

LOMACHENKO TAKES TITLE>> Vasiliy Lomachenko (11-1, 9 KOs) stopped Jorge Linares (44-4, 27 KOs) in the 10th round of their lightweight championship fight in New York, winning a title in his third weight class in just his 12th pro bout. Linares hadn’t lost since 2012.