Kvitova captures Tokyo title, returns to top 10

Tokyo, Sep 29 (IANS/EFE) Czech Petra Kvitova defeated Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 Saturday in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo for her 11th career singles title.

The 2011 Wimbledon champion defeated the ninth-ranked Kerber in an hour and 39 minutes on the strength of her aggressive baseline play and five aces.

Both players had their serves broken on four occasions, but Kvitova won more of the big points down the stretch to capture the winner’s trophy.

The Czech raced out to a 4-0 lead in the final set and, although she needed four championship points to close out the match, finally finished it off by winning a 20-ball rally.

Kvitova defeated American Venus Williams in a grueling three-set semifinal contest on Friday, but she refused to blame her lapse in the second set on fatigue.

With the win, the Czech guaranteed that she would be back in the top 10 when the next WTA rankings come out Monday.

The Toray Pan Pacific Open is one of the biggest hard-court tournaments on the WTA calendar.

This year’s draw featured most of the world’s top players, with the notable exceptions of world No. 1 Serena Williams and world No. 3 Maria Sharapova.