Petra Kvitova denies Cirstea to make it to Miami Open final

 MIAMI: Petra Kvitova made it to her maiden Miami Open final on Friday. The Czech defeated Sorana Cirstea in their semi-final on Friday, 7-5, 6-4 after nearly an hour and 45 minutes of play. Cirstea was the better player when it came to winning first-serve points.

She won 69% of those to Kvitova winning 67%. However, the left-hander won 65% of her second-serve points and 74% of points on return on the Romanian’s second serve. Kvitova also saved four of five break points she faced while converting three break points on Cirstea’s serve.

Kvitova won 78 points for the match, 13 more than Cirstea’s 65. Post-match, Kvitova said, “I'm very happy for sure. I waited quite long to be in the final here. I'm happy I made it finally. It was very difficult, so I'm very happy to get through and to have a chance to play the final tomorrow”.

This is the 10th time Kvitova’s reached a final of a tournament of this stature. She’s won eight titles out of the nine finals she’s previously played.

Her last title came at the Mutua Madrid Open in 2018. Back then, she’d won the title against Kiki Bertens. The last time she reached a WTA 1000 final was, however, the 2022 Cincinnati Open. She lost the title round at the hands of Caroline Garcia.

Kvitova will take on Elena Rybakina. The world no. 7 won her semi-final against third-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-4. This is also Rybakina’s second consecutive final after the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The 23-year-old won the Indian Wells title after winning against Aryna Sabalenka. As such, in Miami, Rybakina’s attempting to clinch the Sunshine Double. If she were to do so, she would be the only fifth player to win the Indian Wells and Miami Open combination. In 2022, Iga Swiatek completed the Sunshine Double. Agencies

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