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Kvitova Fights Through Clash With Jankovic, To Face Cibulkova
| By: Robert Martin |
Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images |
(October 15, 2011) It took two hours 24 minutes for Petra Kvitova to make her first final since winning Wimbledon earlier this year, defeating third seeded Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. She will face Dominika Cibulkova, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Lucie Safarova.
Kvitova has struggled since stunning Maria Sharapova in the final in London, compiling a 5-5 record coming into the Generali Ladies Linz, where she was awarded a wildcard to compete at the top seed. She was able to earn a hard-fought victory over Jankovic thanks to a few timely points.
Jankovic, who has had her own struggles since falling in the final at Cincinnati, was looking to reach her third final of the year, having lost in both previous trips. The match was close, with each player matching the other with three aces and five double faults.
They even won the same 47 points on return. In the end, Kvitova won four points more than Jankovic for the match, 110 to 106, but the most important part of the match was that Jankovic was pressured more often on her serve, eventually giving up one extra break after facing six additional chances.
In other action, Cibulkova took advantage of a multitude of mistakes from her Czech opponent, breaking four times in nine chances, while saving two of three chances against her own serve. Known for her defensive ability, Cibulkova was much more consistent than Safarova, winning 72 percent of points on her serve and just under 50 percent on return in the one hour 15 minute win.
Cibulkova will be in her first final since 2008, where she was defeated in Montreal and at Amelie Island. Despite reaching a career high of No. 12 in 2009, Cibulkova has never won a tour-level title.
Kvitova holds a 3-0 edge over Cibulkova with all three wins coming this year, including two straight-set wins on hard courts early in the season.
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