Andrea Petkovic won her sixth WTA title at the BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games in Antwerp, but it was not the way she would have wanted to win it. Carla Suarez Navarro was forced to pull out of the final with a neck injury. In a nice bonus for the fans, Petkovic and Clijsters played a one set exhibition. Even on the first point, you can see that Kim has still got it! Clijsters won the exhibition, 5-3 coming back from a break down to win the last three games.
This was a fantastic week for Petkovic who saved EIGHT match points in her first match of the week against Alison Van Uytvanck. Petkovic came into the tournament without a WTA main draw win in 2015. Furthermore, the German player arrived in Belgium after a gruelling weekend in Fed Cup action where she spent over five hours on court defeating Sam Stosur and Jarmila Gajdosova in extra time finishes. Petkovic didn’t play her best tennis in Antwerp, but her fighting spirit saw her through some tough battles and eventually, prevail as the champion.
Petkovic and Suarez Navarro both have performance byes into the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Championships. Petkovic will play Zarina Diyas in the second round, while Suarez Navarro will open against Camila Giorgi or Vera Zvonareva. It remains to be seen whether Carla will be able to compete.
Post written by James of Moo’s Tennis Blog
It was a week to remember for Andrea Petkovic. She has now 6 titles including two premier level: Charleston and Antwerp. She deserves it especially the way she played her opening match. It’s never good to win a title via a walkover but good for her. I wish CSN a speedy recovery. She’s at the peak of her career (ranking wise). I hope she comes back soon.
Emman Damian, it’s a pity that the trophy went into her hands this way, and it’s especially a bad thing for the ‘new’ Antwerp event, but her run to the title has been drama-filled with all those match points she saved this week and it’s a well-deserved win for Petko!
Good tournament for Andrea. Let’s see her in next tournaments…