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Petra Kvitova won the 2023 Miami Open title on Saturday with a stunning upset win over World No. 7 and Indian Wells champion Elena Rybakina. The Czech tennis veteran's 30th career title and 9th at the WTA 1000 level, drew a lot of admiration and respect from the tennis world.
Kvitova won the opening set in a marathon 30-point tiebreak before dominating proceedings in the second set to clinch a 7-6(14), 6-2 victory. The win was even more monumental as the two-time Wimbledon champion will return to the Top-10 for the first time since September 2021 when the new round of rankings is released on Monday.
Reacting to the 33-year-old's latest triumph, leading tennis coach Brad Gilbert and former player-turned-commentator Mark Petchey led the praise for Kvitova.
"Wow. What a win for K-viddy taking out Rebak to win Miami Open. Serve was on point 76% on 1st serv & 12-16 on 2nd serve points won most impressive," Gilbert wrote on Twitter.
Petchey hailed Kvitova's longevity on the tour and expressed his delight at seeing her succeed.
"Is there ever a better good news story than @Petra_Kvitova winning a title? 30th career title. Longevity = Legendary," Petchey tweeted.
Meanwhile, tennis analyst Gill Gross revealed catching a glimpse of Kvitova during a training session a few days ago in Miami that indicated how happy she was during her Miami Open campaign.
"I saw Kvitova last week smiling and laughing incessantly while kicking a football around with Jiri Vanek on the turf inside Hard Rock. Made a note to myself: 'wow she seems really happy!' I kind of forgot about it until the last couple days but now I keep thinking about it," Gross wrote.
Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg also reacted to Kvitova's maiden title success in Miami.
Kvitova also became just the fourth woman in the last 14 years to win at least nine WTA 1000 titles, alongside Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Simona Halep.
Petra Kvitova highlights key factor that helped her win maiden Miami Open title
Reflecting on her title run in Miami, Petra Kvitova suggested that she carried the confidence of a quarterfinals run at Indian Wells into the Miami Open. She also stressed that the fast court conditions in Miami helped her serve very well throughout the tournament, which was instrumental in her victory. In the final against Elena Rybakina, Kvitova won a impressive 78% points on her serve.
"I think I played already very well in Indian Wells, and I just kept going here, trying to focus on every match. I had very good opponents during the tournament, which Elena is as well, for sure," Petra Kvitova said in a press conference after the match.
"I think that the serve really helped me, a little bit faster courts here with the faster balls, which I think suits my game."
Kvitova also became the oldest Miami Open winner since Serena Williams won the tournament at the age of 33 in 2015.
