Petra Kvitova completed her dominant week at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open with a confident 6-1 6-1 victory over Dominika Cibulkova in the title match. The Czech won the first edition of the Chinese tournament in 2014 and this year she’s slowly ending the otherwise unsatisfactory 2016 season on a good note.
Playing her first WTA final in 2016, the 14th-seeded Kvitova was as powerful as earlier at the tournament when she ousted world No.1 Angelique Kerber in the third round and brushed aside world number five Simona Halep in the semis.
In the first set of Saturday’s final against the tenth-seeded Cibulkova, Kvitova was ruthless, quickly storming to a 4-0 lead, which translated into 6-1 in no time. Cibulkova hit just one winner in the entire set, while Kvitova recorded 21!
The Czech was just as commanding in the second set, opening it with 2-0 and never looking back en route to another 6-1 set win. In the entire match Cibulkova hit just 2 winners!
Despite the loss, Cibulkova’s week in Wuhan was a superb one and it will propel her from No.12 to No.8 in the rankings, a new career-high for the Slovak. The title will ascend Kvitova from No.16 to No.11 and give her a nice financial boost of $471,700.
Kvitova’s winning gear is from Nike’s winter collection, in particular the purple dynasty/bright mango Flex Victory Premier Skirt with an ombre effect and the Dry Slam Tank. The Nike Zoom Vapor 9.5 Tour footwear ensured Kvitova’s quick, responsive ride and a stylish match to her tennis clothes. (photos: Jimmie48)