Bett1 Open: Petra Kvitova shows off grass prowess; pips Donna Vekic in Berlin finale!

Petra Kvitova’s the 2023 Bett1 Open champion. The Czech won Sunday’s final against Croatia’s Donna Vekic. Kvitova needed an hour and 41 minutes to come up with a 6-2, 7-6(6) victory. Vekic won 76% of her first-serve points to Kvitova’s 73%.

She was also the one who finished the match with better stats than her seeded opponent’s. Vekic had two additional winners to Kvitova’s 25 and four unforced errors fewer than the left-hander’s 21. But Kvitova was able to exploit Vekic’s second serve throughout the match.

Kvitova won 12 of 17 points on Vekic’s second serve while winning 12 of 24 points played on her second serve. The 33-year-old finished the match with 70 points to Vekic’s 62. The opening set was completely dominated by Kvitova while the second set saw Vekic gain the upper hand only for Kvitova to break the latter’s dominance.

The unseeded finalist served for the set in the 10th game and even had a set point in the tie-break but Kvitova was able to breakthrough and converted the win on her first match point, off a forehand winner.

The former world no. 2 had a 4-1 win-to-loss record against Vekic before the final. Now, following this result, she’s widened the gap to 5-1. The title in the German capital’s the second Kvitova’s won this year. Earlier in March, she won the Miami Open trophy (b.

Elena Rybakina). This was the sixth title Kvitova’s won on grass. She now holds a 6-1 record on the surface. Her only loss came in the first final she played on grass, at the Eastbourne International in 2011. Later that year, she won her first Major on the same surface, at Wimbledon.

The Bett1 Open’s the 31st title Petra Kvitova’s won in her career. She’s contested a total of 42 finals. The win also ensured that the two-time Wimbledon winner re-entered the top-10, in the ninth spot on Monday, 26th June.