Petra Kvitova has won the major WTA tournament in Miami. The Czech number 12 in the world, who returns to the global top 10 with her tournament victory, was 7-6 (14) 6-2 too strong for Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan in the final.
For Kvitova (33) it is her first title since the summer of 2022, when she won the Eastbourne grass tournament. In 2018 she last won a title in the WTA 1000 category, the level below the grand slams. Five years ago she was the best at the major tournaments in Doha and Madrid.
In the first set, Kvitova only used her fifth set point in the blistering tiebreak, because a forehand from Rybakina went into the net. Kvitova had already survived five set points from her opponent. Kvitova had failed to serve out the set with a 5-4 lead.
The win of the tiebreak turned out to be a mental boost and Kvitova immediately ran to 3-0 in the second set. After three love games in a row, Rybakina had to serve at 5-2 to stay in the game, but Kvitova used her first game point. She is the oldest winner in Miami since Serena Williams in 2015.
Rybakina could have taken the so-called ‘Sunshine Double’ in the United States, or winning the tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. She defeated Aryna Sabalenka two weeks ago in Indian Wells in the final battle.
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