Petra Kvitova defeated Magdalena Rybarikova on Saturday to win the Premier-level Connecticut Open in New Haven, her 13th career title. Kvitova, who won her second Wimbledon title last month, did not lose a set this week and it was the same case in the final after closing out the match with a 6-4, 6-2 scoreline.
“Serving at 5-3, I knew I was serving for the set, so it’s always a little bit difficult,” Kvitova said. “I was a little bit hectic. It was quite new balls as well. There were a few times where I was pushing her, but then I would miss the last shot. I think I just lost my concentration a little bit at times in the first set.
“But the most important thing was I broke her for the set, and then kept my concentration.”
The title win was an important morale booster for Kvitova, who made early exits in Montreal and Cincinnati.
“It wasn’t really great in Montréal, but I still felt pretty good over there. It was also my first tournament after Wimbledon,” she said. “I had a bad loss against Makarova though, and in Cincinnati I struggled a lot, not really finding my confidence. It was a really difficult few weeks for me.
“But from the first match I played here, I played really solid. That’s important for me going into the US Open. And I’ll enjoy this title today – but from tomorrow I have to think about the US Open.”
Kvitova’s ranking at the WTA Road to Singapore will rise from number 8 to number 6 on Monday.
A title run at the US Open, which begins this week, could catapult Kvitova’s ranking to world number one. Defending champion and current world number one Serena Williams and number two Simona Halep are also in contention.
In doubles, Silvia Soler-Espinosa and Andreja Klepac defeated Arantxa Parra Santonja and Marina Erakovic 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 to win their first WTA doubles title as a team.
