Petra Kvitova became the third Czech Republican in four years to win the Doha title after an exhillirating victory over Garbine Muguruza 3-6 6-3 6-4.
The first set saw the Spaniard dominate proceedings as she penetrated enough depth on her shots to force errors from a weary Kvitova. The fourth seed stormed into a 5-0 lead as her first serve held the key to her powerful forehand winners. Despite grabbing three games in a row, Kvitova didn’t have enough firepower to contain Muguruza as the Spaniard took the first set 6-3 in 33 minutes.
The Czech Republican knew she had to up her energy levels in the second set and she did exactly that, producing classic forehands to dictate play. After moments of patience, a stunningly placed backhand rewarded the break for Kvitova as she eventually stormed to a 5-2 lead. Despite some entertaining points, Kvitova managed to use her big serve to level the match at one set all.
The deciding set produced some high quality tennis as both players brought their best tennis to the court. Some stunning ground strokes were on show as both players pushed each other to their limits in front of a energetic Doha crowd. As the set wore on, Muguruza started to lose her grip on the match and was eventually broken in the fifth game as she took a 3-2 lead. The match had taken its toll on the Spaniard as a tweaked knee from the last point meant that she had to have a lengthy medical time-out. Here is the injury the Spaniard suffered:
Medical time-out for #Muguruza, who is having some serious taping on her left knee.
Has that decidedly shifted the balance in #Kvitova's favour? The Czech is now 1/4 at Ladbrokes!
Bet in-play >>> https://t.co/7jCusd6TPA pic.twitter.com/9Sjxwmzfmb
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) February 18, 2018
The Spaniard refused to surrender the match to Kvitova and continued to save break points to remain within touching distance as she showcased some intelligent tennis. However Kvitova continued her high level of tennis as she held to love to secure a 13th consecutive victory and a second title in two weeks.
Here is what the two players had to say after their epic final:
Garbine Muguruza: “I’m happy with the week. I’m proud of my week, it gives me a lot of motivation ahead of the season.”
Petra Kvitova: “I thought being in the top ten was impossible, I never had dreamt of it. I am grateful for the team for all their support.”
Analysis
It was a positive week for both women as they both played a highly impressive women’s final. For Muguruza she has her confidence after playing some wonderful and unstoppable tennis under Conchita Martinez’s guidance. Her forehand looked particularly sharp and if she plays like that for the rest of the season, she will be hard to stop.
As for Kvitova she is now on a 13 match winning streak having won two titles in three weeks, it is a truly magnificent feat given what she endured not so long ago. The mental and physical trauma she must of suffered and to come back from a painful experience such as a stabbing and play fearless tennis such as this is quite simply astonishing.
