Tournament victory in Berlin! Petra Kvitova kisses the trophy Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
From BZ/dpa
Czech tennis player Petra Kvitova triumphed at the lawn tournament in Berlin.
The two-time Wimbledon winner defeated the Croatian Donna Vekic 6: 2, 7: 6 (8: 6) in the final on Sunday in the Steffi Graf Stadium and celebrated the 31st title of her career. Of the still active players on the WTA tour, only the American Venus Williams (49 titles) has more to her credit.
“Thank you Berlin,” Kvitova said to the audience, “you were fantastic. I love playing on grass.”
Donna Vekic in the Berlin final against Petra Kvitova Photo: Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP
Even before the final on the LTTC Rot-Weiss facility, tournament director Barbara Rittner had drawn a positive conclusion from this year’s edition, despite a day off due to rain.
“We had a difficult Friday with the rain, but yesterday we were rewarded with a mega tennis day,” said Rittner on Sunday: “Overall, the field of players kept what they promised with the name.”
Petra Kvitova serves in the Berlin final Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Jule Niemeier from Dortmund was the last German player to be eliminated in the round of 16 this year. The 23-year-old had to give up injured when the score was 3: 6, 5: 6 against the Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
Sabine Lisicki, who was allowed to start in her home tournament thanks to a wildcard, and Laura Siegemund failed in the opening round.