Updated:
Apr 3, 2023 10:43 pm
Petra Kvitová claimed her 30th WTA Title on Saturday at the Miami Open by beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (14), 6-2 in the final.
Kvitová at 33 became the 2nd Oldest Women’s Champion after Serena William’s 8th Title in 2015. She was Champion in her 13th appearance in the tournament which is an event record. She prevented Rybakina from winning the Sunshine Double following the Kazakh’s win at Indian Wells two weeks ago.
In a first set dominated by the serve, Kvitová was unable to take two break points in the first game before managing to break at 4-4 in the first set. However Rybakina was able to break back immediately before the first set went to a tie-break.
Rybakina opened the tie-break with 3 aces in establishing to take a 4-2 lead in the breaker before Kvitová levelled the scores at 4-4. The next 14 points were won by the serve before Rybakina was able to get a set-point on serve at 12-11 but was unable to convert. Ultimately, Kvitová was able to get a set point opportunity on serve at 15-14 and was able to take it. The tie-break itself lasted for 22 minutes.
The second set was all Kvitová, 3 return winners enabled her to break immediately at the start of the second set before saving a break point at 2-0 (30-40) with a fine backhand volley. That proved to be the only wobble in the second set for the 2-time former Wimbledon Champion as the current holder of that title was unable to respond.
Kvitová broke for the title at 2-5 to claim her biggest title since she won the Mutra Madrid Open in 2018. She became the first Czech woman to win the title in Miami in its 40-year history. The victory has moved her back into the World’s Top 10 for the first time since September 2021. Rybakina remained at her career-high ranking of No.7, she would have moved up to No.6 had she won the title.
