Kvitova beats the odds to win her maiden Qatar Total Open title
The Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova completed her difficult journey of once again breaking into the world’s top-10 rankings after clinching the Qatar Total Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday.
The player, who suffered a terrifying knife attack that seriously injured her left hand in December 2016, came back from behind to beat fourth seed Garbine Muguruza 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and clinch the title, reported Gulf Times.
Kvitova once again displayed her never-say-die attitude for the second night in a row. It was Kvitova’s 13th straight win, having come to Doha with victory in St. Petersburg followed by Fed Cup wins. She also entered the 10-10 rankings for the first time since June, 2016.
The twice Wimbledon champion, who came into the tournament as the world No.21, was in trouble as she trailed 5-0 in the first set with fourth seed Muguruza looking to snap the Czech's winning streak at 12 matches, reported Qatar Tribune.
But Kvitova dug deep to take the contest into a decider and ground out the victory. Asked how she managed to turn the contest around, Kvitova said: “I’ve no idea. I just tried... It was a really tough match, a big fight and hopefully the people enjoyed it.”
“It feels great (to be in the top 10). I mean, first of all, I think that it feels much better right now because top 10 is the number. Of course, it's such a great achievement to be back there,” Kvitova said.
“I couldn’t really dream about it one year ago when I was in (a) totally different position trying to come back and play. And for me, it’s something that’s amazing.
“I couldn't really wish for more. I played great tennis, St Petersburg and here as well. So that means a lot to me.”
Coming into the final, Kvitova had spent 8 hours and 22 minutes on court, including 2 hours and 35 minutes on Saturday night to beat No.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals.
Dabrowski and Ostapenko clinch doubles title
Gabriela Dabrowski and Jelena Ostapenko won their maiden doubles title as a pair after defeating No.8 seeds Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-3, 6-3 in the final.
Playing just their fourth tournament together, the unseeded duo Dabrowski and Ostapenko beat seeded pairs en route to winning the title in Doha.
For Dabrowski, it marked her seventh career doubles title and second of the year following Sydney, alongside Xu Yifan. The Canadian had also won the Australian Open mixed doubles crown with Mate Pavic and the Roland Garros mixed doubles title with Rohan Bopanna.
Latvia’s Ostapenko, meanwhile, maintained an unbeaten record in doubles finals to claim her third title with as many partners, following St. Petersburg and Stuttgart last year with Alicja Rosolska and Raquel Atawo respectively.
