Kivota beats Kerber to win Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo

Tokyo, Sep 28 (IANS) Seventh seed and 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic beat Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 in the Pan Pacific Open final Saturday, to claim her second title of the year.

The in-form Kvitova out-gunned Venus Williams Friday in three sets and blasted her way through the first set 6-2 at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park here, reports Xinhua.

She held her own serve and broke the German’s serve twice, but Kerber showed her mettle in the second set, blitzing it 6-0 in just 24-minutes, taking the match to a third set and final set.

Kerber rallied hard in the final set, playing her way out of three match points. But the fifth seed, was eventually outdone on the fourth match point by Kvitova with a cross-court forehand drive that left her no chance.

Kvitova, who thrashed former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets, never went behind against Kerber in a set and despite five double-faults, was the most aggressive of the pair when it came to taking risks and landing the big points.

Kvitova’s win in an hour and 39 minutes chalks her total career singles wins up to 11 and will see her ranked seventh and in contention to qualify for the end of season WTA Championships to be held in Istanbul next month.