WTA Championships Final - Kvitova caps dream season with title

Women’s tennis may have finally found its next big champion in Petra Kvitova. The 21 year old Czech left-hander capped off her dream season with a hard fought three set victory over Victoria Azarenka in the finals of the WTA Tour Championships in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday evening.

Kvitova won 7-5, 5-6, 6-3 in two and a half hours in a high-quality match that kept the packed crowd enthralled threw out. Kvitova stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first set but the Belarusian bounced back to 5-5, Kvitova managed to win the set 7-5. In the second, Azarenka bounced back and won it 6-4. Kvitova saved multiple break points in the first game of the final set and then broke Azarenka’s serve early in the third set to go up 3-0.

Down 2-5, Azarenka saved a match point but Kvitova gained two more on her own serve in the next game and Kvitova finally converted on her third match point.

Kvitova played her big game – going for her shots and hit 42 winners, along with 43 unforced errors While Azarenka has 23 winners to 27 unforced errors in the final.

The Czech was 5 of 12 on breakpoints while Azarenka was 4 of 9.

The win was worth $1.75 million for Kvitova and the Czech also moves to no. 2 in the world rankings for the first time, having started the year outside the top 30. Kvitova is now 19-0 indoors this year and will only be around 120 points behind world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

The title was the sixth of the year for Kvitova – tieing her for most titles this season along with Wozniacki. The Czech is also only the third player to win the WTA Tour Championships on her debut – joining the illustrious company of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

Kvitova will now aim to cap her dream season with a Fed Cup title. The Czech Republic take on Russia in the finals on the coming weekend.