LONDON/ PALMA – Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova captured her first title in more than a year with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Jelena Ostapenko at the Rothesay Open in Eastbourne, England.
The No. 14 seed from the Czech Republic improved to 5-1 in grass-court finals, including victories at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014. It was Kvitova’s 29th career title and first since Doha in March 2021.
Kvitova finished with 18 winners to just 12 unforced errors against Ostapenko, the No. 8 seed from Latvia. Kvitova struck seven aces and saved all five break points, the third consecutive match where she didn’t lose her serve.
Kvitova saved five break points in the fourth game of the second set to stay in control of the match at 3-1.
“Playing on the grass is very special for me every time,” the Czech player said on court according to AP. “It’s the best preparation for Wimbledon, as well.”
She is 5-1 in grass-court finals. Her most recent was in 2018 in Birmingham.
The eighth-seeded Ostapenko, a Wimbledon semifinalist four years ago, won the 2017 French Open.
After the final, Ostapenko withdrew from the women’s doubles final alongside Ukrainian partner Lyudmyla Kichenok because of a toe problem on her right foot. The walkover handed the title to Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia and Magda Linette of Poland.
Ostapenko is the 12th seed at Wimbledon and has a first-round match scheduled on Monday against Oceane Dodin of France.
Bad Homburg Open
Caroline Garcia of France earned her eighth career title by rallying for a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 triumph against Canada’s Bianca Andreescu in Bad Homburg Open, Germany, Reuters reported.
Andreescu led 4-2 in the second set before Garcia swung the momentum of the match with back-to-back service breaks. Garcia converted five of 11 break points in the match while saving four of the seven that she faced.
The first meeting between the two unseeded players lasted two hours and 42 minutes. Garcia won 74 per cent of the points on her first serve (39 of 53) and took advantage of six double faults by the 2019 US Open champ.
Garcia took a medical timeout for what seemed to be a shoulder problem early in the second set. She then went 4-2 down before winning 10 of the next 14 games to seal the match.
“It was a fight (for) every point from the first to the last one,” Garcia said.
She is 8-3 in career finals but the Frenchwoman’s last title was almost exactly three years ago in Nottingham in the buildup to 2019 Wimbledon.
Andreescu was looking for her first title since beating Serena Williams in the 2019 final at Flushing Meadows before injuries forced her to miss the entire 2020 season.
“I’m very happy. It’s been a couple of rough years but, you know, I’m putting in the work and on to the next. I’m excited for Wimbledon,” said Andreescu, who became visibly emotional while thanking her team. “You guys stuck with me through the toughest moments and that’s all anyone could ever ask for.”
Mallorca Championship
No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece collected his first grass-court title with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) win over fifth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut at the Mallorca Championship in Spain.
Tsitsipas needed two hours and 31 minutes to earn his ATP Tour-leading 40th win of the season. It was his second title of the year (April’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters) and the ninth of the 23-year-old’s career.
Tsitsipas won 81 per cent of the points on his first serve (39 of 48) and improved to 3-0 against Bautista Agut, who forced the deciding tiebreak after falling behind 4-1 and 5-2 in the third set.
Rothesay International
No. 3 seed Taylor Fritz outlasted fellow American Maxime Cressy 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) to win the title in Eastbourne, England, for the second time.
Fritz, who earned his first ATP Tour title at the grass-court event in 2019, tallied 17 aces and no double faults.
He struck 47 winners, made only six unforced errors and never faced a break point.
Cressy, who was seeking his first title, had 11 aces but also eight double faults. He finished the two-hour, 18-minute match with 38 winners and 22 unforced errors.
Fritz could rely on his serve in his first meeting with Cressy. Fritz didn’t face a break point in the final; he won 92% of his first serves, and launched 17 aces. Even so, it took him more than two hours to get on top of Cressy, who was playing his first ATP final. Fritz didn’t drop his serve all week.
“My grass season wasn’t going great before I arrived here,” Fritz said. “But it is great to beat these players and it gives me confidence. I played really well all week and going into Wimbledon, I feel good.”
Fritz, ranked 14th, won his third ATP title, second in Eastbourne beside 2019, and second this year after Indian Wells in March.
Fritz has drawn Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the first round of Wimbledon next week.
Cressy, ranked 60th, has sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada.
