(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Petra Kvitova won her third title of the year as she fought back from a set down to beat Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu 4-6 6-2 6-3 in the Prague Open final yesterday.
The Czech second seed got off to a flying start and took a 4-1 lead in the opening set but Buzarnescu battled back to break Kvitova's dominance, winning the next five games to clinch the set.
Kvitova roared back in front of a raucous home crowd, using her powerful forehand to pin Buzarnescu back in the second set and broke the Romanian's serve three times to force a decider.
The two-times Wimbledon champion, who was missed the Prague event last year due to a hand injury, maintained her momentum to win her home tournament in her first appearance in it.
The 28-year-old left-hander added to her triumphs in Petersburg and Doha this season.
Buzarnescu fell to a second WTA final defeat after losing out at the Hobart International final to Belgian Elise Mertens.
World number 10 Kvitova has little time to celebrate as she plays Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko in the Madrid Open first round today, two weeks before the start of the French Open.
Also making her debut in Prague this year, Buzarnescu had an eventful week of her own: the Romanian celebrated her 30th birthday with her semifinal victory and also reached the doubles final.
The Romanian spoke of being eager to face the two-time Wimbledon champion - whom she watched on television - for the first time after her semifinal victory, but got off to a slow start against Kvitova in front of the latter's partisan fans.
After losing the first three games of the match, however, Buzarnescu came alive and won six of the next seven games to pocket a one-set lead.
The pair ground out marathon game after marathon game, as three straight multi-deuce tussles highlighted the middle of the set, but Buzarnescu secured what proved to be the pivotal break on her fourth chance in the ninth game, and served out the set to love to win five straight games.
However, Kvitova started to find her range in the second set, and quickly sprinted out to a 3-0 lead by winning the first three games to 15.
Her early lead stood up to send the match to a decider, though an insurance break in the sixth game proved crucial to the Czech's efforts.
With Kvitova serving for the set, Buzarnescu earned herself a bushel of break points, but converted on her seventh of the game to prolong proceedings.
Having not gotten to set point on serve, Kvitova nonetheless made a statement in the ensuing return game, winning the last four points to break again and send the match the distance.
Kvitova found her best serve in the decider, as an early break of the Buzarnescu serve stood up to help her win her fifth straight final.
The Czech No.2 did not face a break point in the final set, as she was taken to deuce just once, and secured an emotional victory as Buzarnescu's final shot floated long after two hours and 17 minutes of play.
Mertens outclasses Tomljanovic to win Rabat title
Belgian Elise Mertens extended her winning streak to 12 matches by beating Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2 7-6(4) in the final of the Rabat Grand Prix in Morocco yesterday.
The 22-year-old Mertens took control of the match from the start as Tomljanovic struggled to keep up with the fierce Belgian's creative and powerful onslaught of shots and was brushed aside in the first set.
Mertens's blazing form helped her to take a 5-3 lead in the second set before her 24-year-old opponent fought back to force a tie break.
The Belgian maintained her composure to comfortably seal her third title of the year after winning the Hobart and Lugano tournaments.
Tomljanovic's cause was undone as she racked up 46 unforced errors in an effort to find the lines against the in-form Mertens.
'I'm definitely not holding the trophy I wanted this week but there were a lot of little victories I'm very happy with, the Australian said after collecting her runners-up trophy.
'It was my first time in Rabat but I definitely hope it's not the last.
Mertens's winning run has helped her rise to a career-high ranking of 16 ahead of her Madrid Open campaign, which kicks off today against compatriot Alison Van Uytvanck.
The 22-year-old's rise in the rankings could also boost her chances of being seeded at the French Open this month.
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