Petra Kvitova continued her impressive comeback by defeating Spanish-Venezuelan Garbiñe Muguruza in the final of the Qatar Open and adding her 13th straight win and her second straight title.
The 27-year-old Czech, two-time Wimbledon champion, again required three sets to beat Muguruza 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was Kvitova’s sixth win over a rival in the top 10 in 2018.
Kvitova, who outpointed current world number one Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in the semifinals, is preparing to return to the top 10 list on Monday for the first time since she was the victim of a stab attack at her home in December 2016, an incident that kept her away from the courts for a long time.
Similar to her game against Wozniacki, 16th seed Kvitova got off to a poor start, losing her first serve with two double faults to fall 2-0 behind. Then he would commit a couple more double faults in the fourth game to suffer a new break, and trailed 5-0 at the time of winning three games in a row and then giving up the first set.
The momentum shifted in Kvitova’s favor in the third game of the second set. She first rescued a break-point at 30-40 with a backhand after she was the one to wear out the most physically, and then saved her serve with an ace. He came out ahead of another break point in the fifth game before breaking Muguruza’s serve with a pair of shots from the back of the court to go up 4-2. AFP
Muguruza couldn’t beat Kvitova in Qatar final
