The 2018 Nature Valley Classic final will be a clash of defending champion Petra Kvitova and Magdalena Rybarikova who won the tournament back in 2009 as her maiden WTA title.
The first to reach this year’s Birmingham final was the world No.19 Rybarikova, who fought back from a break down in both sets to overcome tricky Barbora Strycova 7-6(1) 6-4. The fourth-seeded Kvitova, on the other hand, was in command against fellow lefty Mihaela Buzarnescu, dispatching the Romanian 6-3 6-2.
Rybarikova will play her first final of the season, while Kvitova has already won four titles in 2018, more than any other player. It will be their seventh career meeting and it’s interesting that they almost always faced each other either in finals or semifinals (just once in quarterfinals). Kvitova leads their head-to-head 5-1, although this upcoming match will be their first encounter on grass.
