Petra Kvitova upsets Victoria Azarenka to grab Mutua Madrid Open title
World number 10 Petra Kvitova of Czech republic bagged her third title of the year, prevailing over world number 4 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in straight sets 7-6(3), 6-4 in the finals of Mutua Madrid Open at the La Caja Mágica
in Madrid on Sunday. The Czech took an hour and 42 minutes to oust her opponent.
Kvitova took the lead from the start of the match as she broke Azarenka in the second game, racing to a 3-0 lead. Azarenka fought back and broke back in the fifth game, levelling the score at 3-3. Both players held their serve
in the next six games to tie the score at 6-6, forcing a tie-break. The Czech won six of the last seven points in the tie-break, claiming it 7-3.
The left-handed fired two aces but also committed the same number of double faults in the first set. Kvitova hit 60 percent of the first serves and converted 80 percent of them into points in the opening set. The Czech capitalized
on one of the two break opportunities she created in the first set.
In the second set, Kvitova broke her opponent twice in the first six games but on both occasions Azarenka broke immediately to level the score at 3-3. However, the Czech broke again in the seventh game and this time she did not
allow the Belarusian to break back. Serving for the match at 5-4, Kvitova won four consecutive points and won the set 6-4.
The Czech delivered two aces and 58 percent of the first serves in the second set, clinching 64 percent of the points on them. The 21-year-old converted three of the five break points she received and managed to save five of the
seven break points she faced in the second set.
A jubilant Kvitova said, after the match, "We know each other's games well. Today it was about being more aggressive and I was the first. I'm so happy to win the tournament and be in the Top 10 at the same time. But it's just a
number and I want to improve my game.”
The Czech has jumped eight places in the WTA Rankings, moving from 18th to the 10th spot by winning this title. She has previously won titles at Brisbane and Paris, earlier in the season. On the other hand,
Azarenka became the highest-ranked Belarusian in the history of the sport as she moved to the 4thplace.
Azarenka said, praising her opponent’s game, "Petra showed some great tennis today. There were some things I could have done better and I could have taken some more opportunities, but that's the way tennis works. Today it was her
on top.”
Earlier, Azarenka partnered Maria Kirilenko to claim the double title, beating second seeded team of Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
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