TENNIS NEW HAVEN – Petra Kvitova beat Magdalena Rybarykova 6-4 6-2 to clinch her second Connecticut Open title in the past three years and her second win of the year after clinching her second Wimbledon. She won the New Haven Tournament in 2012 before losing to Simona Halep last year. Diego Sampaolo
Petra Kvitova beat Magdalena Rybarykova 6-4 6-2 to clinch her second Connecticut Open title in the past three years and her second win of the year after clinching her second Wimbledon. She won the New Haven Tournament in 2012 before losing to Simona Halep last year
Kvitova did not drop a single set in the whole tournament. In each sets of the final Kvitova broke serve twice in the sixth and in the final game. She was broken only once in the ninth game in the final. It was just the third break she faced in the whole tournament.
Kvitova stormed to 5-2 in the first set before Rybarikova won two games in a row to claw her way back to 4-5. Kvitova hit a crosscourt backhand service winner on her match point.
World Number 68 Rybarikova, who won her first match against a top-5 player when she defeated Simona Halep earlier in the week, played the final with a thigh injury she suffered from during the semifinal against Camila Giorgi.
Kvitova will be looking to improve her record at the US Open, the only Grand Slam where she has never reached the quarter final
“Serving for the set at 5-3 was a little bit difficult. I was a little bit hectic. There were a few points where I was pushing her but then I would miss the last shot. I just lost a bit of concentration at times in the first set. It wasn’t really good in Montreal. It was my first tournament after Wimbledon. In Cincinnati I struggled and I did not find my confidence. It was a really difficult few weeks for me. From the first match I played here I played really solid. That’s important for me going into the US Open.”
