Kvitova Outduels Bouchard for Wuhan Open Crown

September 29, 2014 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Kvitova_Crop
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard met in the Wuhan Open on Saturday in a rematch of this year’s Wimbledon final, and the result was the same as Kvitova captured the inaugural Wuhan Open title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

The third-seeded Czech picked up her third title of the year with the win and qualified for the end of the year WTA Finals in Singapore. She saved seven of eight break points in the second set alone as she fought off the brutal heat conditions to win in straight sets.

“I knew that I have to play a little bit more aggressive than I played the matches before,” said Kvitova. “I need to play a similar game as in Wimbledon, very aggressively going for the shots.”

She did just that, posting a plus-12 differential in winners to unforced errors. In contrast, Bouchard put together a minus-four differential. She was hampered by a jammed finger that required an injury timeout to tape it up after she hit herself with her own racquet on a follow-through.

“I have hit a million forehands in my life and I still can’t hit one without hitting myself,” said the sixth-seeded Canadian. “With tape and adrenaline, (I could) still play as I normally would, but it’s pretty painful now. It’s surprising how such a small body part can actually be so painful.”

With Kvitova qualifying for the WTA Finals, there are just four remaining spots. The next one could go to Bouchard at some point this week. She is currently fifth in the standings, slightly ahead of Agnieszka Radwanska.

 


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Centercourt
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