Kvitova pulls off comeback to win Qatar Total Open

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Petra Kvitova went the distance to win at the Qatar Total Open Sunday night. The Czech star captured her 13^th consecutive match win beating Spain’s Garbine Muguruza 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court on the grounds of the Khalifa International Tennis Complex. It was the first time she won the tournament becoming the third player from her country to win the championship.

This was their fifth-time meeting and the first in a final between one another. Kvitova owns the series 3-1 with their last taking place at the US Open last season. A surprising turn of events set up the final match of the tournament with the Spaniard getting a walkover in the semifinals against Simona Halep. The Czech star who sought her second title of the season since her return took down the world number one in a long three setter that had her with a chance to move into the top ten with a win. While Muguruza wouldn’t gain a lot of ground in the top three, the 900 points and another premier WTA title would let her get into the season with her first.

Muguruza made her point strong with a hold of serve followed up by two straight to come out well against Kvitova. She made it 4-0 giving the thought that the match would remain one sided between the two as the Czech had yet to answer her with strength. It was soon 5-0 with a double break in hand and three straight service holds that became a major concern in the Kvitova camp.

She found a way to hold her ground firmly in the sixth avoiding the bagel but remained in trouble against the world number four. She gained a break point chance in the seventh to achieve a second victory with three more to go for a full comeback. She searched for a third straight on serve and got it sending nerves into her opponent who tried so hard to close the door on her.

It came for her in the ninth reaching three chances to close out the set on the second set point with a review showing that it hit the baseline. While it took just 32 minutes, the save Muguruza put together allowed her a chance to regroup her game and make good of the second set. She averaged 75 percent through nine games played where her nine unforced errors played a role in Kvitova’s march back where she had four double faults and 15 errors total.

She opened service to start a new page getting the much-needed hold to compete better against Muguruza. The Spaniard answered her with ferocity followed by challenging her opponent’s serve to gain a break. Kvitova denied her after two breaks to hold the lead in the set wanting to grow a serious stance. They remained tight where the smallest error could give one of them an advantage to take off. For Kvitova it was her opponent who erred just enough to gain the victory in the fifth on served followed by a break that gave her a 4-2 hold.

The Czech refused to have any other result but a third set to be played as she had a 5-2 run fighting to stave off Muguruza. She saw the fourth seed win another game making the gap tighter and pressure heavily resting on Kvitova to finish it before it got out of hand. With two set points available to close out the second, the Czech got it with a ball landing long of the court to send the players into a deciding set. It lasted 45 minutes with Kvitova improving her first serve percentage limiting the number of double faults but not her errors. The winners she put together helped her minimize Muguruza’s offense and setup the pivotal decider.

During the break, Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez came out to speak with Muguruza on how to attain the ultimate victory over Kvitova. Her forehand did good work against the Czech but there was a lot of good response from her in the game that didn’t make holding easy. Kvitova experienced the same difficulty as they began to set into a holding pattern slowly. Three games surpassed before the world number four took a medical timeout for her left knee and Kvitova had her coach come out in the meantime.

After having her knee taped up the set resumed with Kvitova earning the break to consolidate her serve thereafter. It gave her a 4-2 lead on Muguruza smashing an ace in the sixth game to win it while letting out a roar. The small margin that the Czech opened up was not securely hers as the Spaniard brought back a fight on deuce in the seventh to cut the gap to one making the third a very exciting moment.

Kvitova answered with a big win in the eighth on serve that gave her a shot at pressuring Muguruza to fall and hand her the title. With the wind still playing a factor, the fourth seed had trouble getting it done but finished the ninth hoping to hold back the Czech from ending it on her own terms. She gained three championship points in the tenth game that saw the first one smashed back for a winner by Muguruza.

A second chance helped her capture it as Muguruza’s attempt to slice a return went into the net instead handing Kvitova her the finish after 2 hours and 16 minutes. “I just tried and came from Prague after the Fed Cup and playing outdoors was something I managed to play under the conditions and the match against Garbine was a tough fight,” said Kvitova before receiving the trophy.  

The victory handed her a second title this season and the 22^nd of her career. Kvitova’s win gets her back into the top ten moving into ninth ahead of Angelique Kerber. “It’s the goal,” she joked. “When I remember one year again it looked impossible and couldn’t dream of it. It’s a special feeling to be back.”