Wuhan, China (SportsNetwork.com) - Petra Kvitova again got the better of Eugenie Bouchard, earning a straight-set victory on Saturday to claim the title at the inaugural Wuhan Tennis Open.
The two met in the Wimbledon final back in July and Kvitova dropped just three games to capture her second title at the All England Club. It was a bit more competitive on Saturday, as the Czech star notched a 6-3, 6-4 victory for her third title of 2014 and the 14th of her career.
Kvitova also won the U.S. Open tune-up in New Haven this summer, but her other three tournaments since Wimbledon ended in early exits. She was a third-round loser in Montreal and lost her first match in Cincinnati before a surprising third-round exit at the upset-filled U.S. Open.
Despite the up-and-down summer, Kvitova on Saturday became the fourth player to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore, joining Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep. Just four spots remain in the exclusive field.
"I've had a great second part of the season," said Kvitova, whose early season struggles included a first-round loss at the Australian Open and a third-round exit at the French Open. "It all started a little bit at the French Open, and from there I just kept improving. I think early on I was expecting too much of myself, and it was really difficult to take the loss in my first round in Australia, but I kept working hard, and now I'm here."
Kvitova opened an early break on Saturday and held on to capture the first set, then opened a 5-2 lead with a pair of breaks in the second. She faltered on a match point in the eighth game with a backhand into the net and Bouchard made it a bit interesting with a break.
The 20-year-old Canadian couldn't break again and fell to 0-3 lifetime against Kvitova.
"It's been a great week," said Bouchard. "First of all, of course, I have to congratulate Petra. She's beaten me in two finals this year, so I will have to figure out what to do to beat her now."
Bouchard fell to 1-3 lifetime in finals, including 1-2 this year. In addition to Wimbledon, she beat Karolina Pliskova for her first career title in May at Nuremburg.
Kvitova, who picked up a first prize of $441,000, improved to 14-4 lifetime in title matches.
