Kvitova conquers Kerber in Tokyo

 

Originally published on: 30/09/13 00:00

The former Wimbledon champion secured a 6-2 0-6 6-3 victory to boost her hopes of qualifying for the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul.

Kvitova, who won the season-ending championships in 2011, fired 17 winners as she stormed through the opening set, but the errors crept into her game as Kerber bounced back, winning the second set to love to force a decider.

Kerber, searching for her first tournament win this season, let the match slip away from her as Kvitova stormed to a 4-0 lead in the final set, and the Czech sealed the victory on her fourth match point for her 11th career title.

"It's always a great feeling if you win a title at a tournament. It means a lot for me,” Kvitova said. “I'm glad I have some points toward the Championships. I still have some tournaments left but I want to focus on today. I just want to enjoy it."

"Petra was playing very well in the first set – in the second set I started to play my game, and I tried to do the same thing in the third set, but she started playing tougher again and moved better," Kerber said. "I was trying to give my best but she was better at the end, so all credit to her."

In the first WTA final featuring two left-handers since Quebec City in 2009 (M Czink bt L Safarova) both players boosted their hopes of qualifying for Istanbul, currently occupying the final two spots.

Kvitova is seventh in the Race to Istanbul on 4040 points, while Kerber moved up into the final qualifying spot on 3315 points, less than 100 points clear of Jelena Jankovic. The players head to Beijing this week for the China Open.

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