Kvitova wins New Haven

(Rank/Seed)

My prediction was correct- (5/2) Kvitova beat (14/7) Kirilenko to win the title in New Haven 76(9) 75, despite having recently lost to Kirilenko at the Olympics

First Set

It was very close, 3 breaks a piece and every time Kvitova pushed ahead, Kirilenko came back. Kvitova missed out serving for the set at 6-5 and was forced to play the breaker. Each time Kvitova pulled ahead, Kirilenko came back, from 4-6 down, to 7-6 (set point) up. Kvitova whacked a forehand return winner to save that and ultimately edged the set on her 5th set point!

Second Set

Kvitova looked to be struggling as she fell behind 2-5 in the set, but Kirilenko seemed to tire from there on in and Kvitova's greater consistency pulled her through the next five games and set point down to win the match

Kvitova had already clinched the US Open series, but this win has solidly confirmed her as one of the favourites behind Serena heading into the US Open. She's now won 12 of her last 13 matches and picked up 2 titles in 3 weeks. Good work for someone who had traditionally struggled on American hard courts