By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Depleted by a grueling rally, Petra Kvitova dropped to a squat atop the Singapore sign trying to reload her lungs for the next point.
Kvitova caught her breath, but couldn't close the gap on a streaking Caroline Wozniacki.
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The second-seeded Wozniacki relied on fast feet, fitness and a fierce fighting spirit grinding out a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
The defending champion conquered Kvitova for the first time in four years with her last win coming in straight sets at the 2014 WTA Finals.
Despite taking a medical timeout to treat a left knee injury in the second set, Wozniacki wore Kvitova down in an arduous two hour, 19-minute triumph.
The Australian Open champion raised her three-set record to 12-5 on the season. Kvitova dropped to 0-2 in the White Group.
"Definitely I played much better today," Wozniacki told Andrew Krasny afterward. "I think I returned well. I served pretty well. I moved well. Against Petra, a player so powerful, you have to stay on your game. You never know what's going to happen so I just tried to stay positive and get a lot of balls back."
Wozniacki's win levels her White Group record to 1-1 while setting Elina Svitolina up for a shot to clinch a semifinal spot in the round-robin tournament today.
If Svitolina, who swept Kvitova in Sunday's White Group opener, beats Karolina Pliskova in straight sets today, she seals a semifinal spot.
The 28-year-old Wozniacki once ran the New York City Marathon to raise money for charity and remains a tireless competitor who isn't very philanthropic donating points to opponents. Kvitova more than doubled Wozniacki's winner output—40 to 19—but nearly tripled the unerring Dane's unforced error court—40 to 14—as Wozniacki played cleaner points amid third-set pressure.
An opportunistic Wozniacki converted six of nine break points and sometimes left the world No. 5 huffing and puffing after extended exchanges in the last set.
Kvitova won the toss, elected to receive and earned a couple of break points before Wozniacki calmed the threat.
Patiently putting deep drives into both corners, Wozniacki wrong-footed Kvitova with a diagonal backhand, drew a short replay and curled a crosscourt forehand winner to break.
The Australian Open champion's first break of the tournament gave her a 5-3 lead as she stepped up to serve for the set.
Still, Kvitova wasn't done.
The left-hander lashed a forehand winner down the line erasing set point, pounded a backhand pass for break point and banged out an error breaking back in the ninth game.
Swinging more freely, Kvitova confirmed the break with a body serve, leveling at 5-all.
Straddling the baseline, Kvitova was taking the ball earlier and trying to dictate rallies.
The two-time Wimbledon winner won a 20-shot rally then fired a forehand for break point. Wozniacki saved it then showed her speed sprinting corner to corner and banging a backhand pass down the line. Wozniacki withstood intense pressure holding for 6-5.
Serving to force a tie break, Kvitova saved a second set point but pasted a forehand into the middle of the net on the third as Wozniacki took a one-set lead after 53 minutes.
Playing her quick, counter-punching style, Wozniacki committed just three unforced errors in the opening set—13 fewer than her opponent.
Even when losing games, Wozniacki made Kvitova work for everything she got. When Kvitova lost the shape of her forehand, she began flat-lining it into net.
Hit with a time violation warning, Kvitova compounded her issues slapping a point-blank forehand into net to give back the break at love.
After slumping through her sloppiest game of the match, Kvitova caught the line breaking back in the third game.
Serving with more sting, Kvitova backed-up the break with an affirmative shout for 3-1. Wozniacki, who had been clutching at her left knee during the game, took a medical timeout for treatment of the injury after the fourth game.
Following a five-minute medical treatment for taping on her knee, Wozniacki stamped her first hold of the second set.
The scrambling Dane showed no signs of compromised movement as she dug out an exquisite running lob winner breaking back to even the set after six games.
Righting her game after that wobble, Kvitova was driving deep shots breaking in the seventh game. The Czech opened the eighth game with a serve-and-volley and showed her variety throughout a firm hold for 5-3.
On her third set point, Kvitova showed fine feel sliding successive slice backhands, the second a clean winner down the line, to force a final set.
Kvitova cracked 17 winners and broke four times tearing through the 47-minute second-set on a three-game roll.
Showing faster feet to start the final set, Wozniacki ran Kvitova side to side, sped forward for a tame dropper and whacked a backhand down the line for the opening break.
That grueling point left Kvitova winded and reeling. Wozniacki breezed through a love hold to back up the break.
Intensifying physicality of rallies empowered Wozniacki and drained Kvitova, who was bending over behind the baseline gulping deep breaths of air as Wozniacki held in the fourth game.
That game took a toll on the Czech who wailed a wild error gifting the break and a 4-1 lead to the defending champion, who never looked back raising her 2018 record to 41-16.