2011 Open GDF Suez: Petra Kvitova upsets Kim Clijsters in straight sets in final
Newly crowned World Number 1 Kim Clijsters suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of Russian pro Petra Kvitova, who ousted the Belgian player in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 at the Open GDF Suez title match in France.
The victory was a great surprise to both commentators and viewers, who had assumed that Clijsters and her top spot would guarantee her a win at the final.
World Number 14 Petra Kvitova had barely scraped into the final after a number of tough matches; she was a match point down against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the second round and one point away from a loss to Yanina Wickmayer in the third set of their
quarterfinal match. However, she managed to decimate American Fed Cup player Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-2, 6-0 in the semi-finals, and carried the results of that performance into her match with Clijsters.
The first set was relatively close, but it was in the second set that the Russian stamped her dominance. Clijsters managed to equal the score to 3-3, but fumbled to miss a forehand volley and gave Kvitova a 4-3 lead in the final set. Despite saving a match
point with an ace, she could not challenge Kvitova who successfully converted the second match point of the set. She won the title match with a forehand winner down the line.
This is the first premier event the 20-year-old Kvitova has ever won. The player has amassed a total of three career titles since she turned pro in 2006. Kvitova has been playing particularly well this year, winning the international-tier Brisbane International
earlier this year. She has won three of the four finals she appeared in, losing the 2009 Linz event to Yanina Wickmayer. The player also won the Hobart event in 2009.
Petra Kvitova is delighted with her victory “I'm very happy to win my second title of the year, and it doesn't get much better than beating the new No.1 in the final. I thought I played very well. I played my game, fast and aggressive, as I couldn't let
her dominate. It's very special to defeat Kim in the final. I'd like to thank my team and I would like to dedicate this victory to my grandfather, who passed away last week.”
Meanwhile, Clijsters had an admirable run at the tournament before running into Kvitova; she ousted Caroline Wozniacki to become the new World Number 1 after almost five years, and the event was an overall success for her. She seemed resigned to her loss,
saying “my opponent was just better today. I couldn’t play my best because she put so much pressure on me.”
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