Kvitova nails 10th title in Dubai

DUBAI: Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova claimed her 10th singles title after defeating Sara Errani 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 in the final of the Dubai Championships yesterday.
The Czech, who did not drop a set in the opening four rounds of the tournament, was the favorite after winning her previous three meetings with the Italian and the 22-year-old sought to assert her dominance from the start.
“It was very tough, up and down — she can catch a lot of balls and get them back... I tried to stay focused and calm in the last set,” Kvitova said in a courtside interview.
Kvitova broke twice to race into a 3-0 lead in under 10 minutes as Errani struggled to handle the world number eight’s fearsome forehand.
The Czech, who cruised past 2012 champion Agnieszka Radwanska and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in earlier rounds, suffered a wobble as two double faults helped Errani to narrow the deficit to 4-2, but the left-hander broke again to seal the set.
After such a stroll, it was easy to forget that Errani was actually the higher-ranked player and few among the crowd would have expected anything but a similar procession for Kvitova in the second set.
The indefatigable Errani had other ideas, however, and with the crowds firmly supporting her, the claycourt specialist switched to a serve and volley approach.
That enabled her to break three times and she also held her own serve with increasing ease to square the match as more errors crept into Kvitova’s game.
The momentum was with Errani and she went 0-40 up with the Czech serving at 1-1 in the deciding set, but the latter escaped with a series of blistering serves.
That proved to be the pivotal moment, Kvitova breaking at the next opportunity and then holding for a 4-1 lead before sealing the title with an unreturnable serve.
Berdych, Tsonga reach Marseille final
World No. 6 Tomas Berdych thrashed Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov 6-2 6-1 yesterday to set up a Marseille Open final with Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Third seed Tsonga, who won the event in 2009, brushed aside compatriot Gilles Simon 6-2 6-2.
Top-seed Berdych was never threatened by Tursunov, a former top 20 player, and lost just two of 27 points on serve.
The Czech broke his 119th-ranked opponent’s serve twice in each set to secure his first final appearance of the season.
Bhupathi, Bopanna left out of Davis Cup squad
In New Delhi, Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri returned to the Indian Davis Cup squad yesterday for the Asia-Oceania relegation series against Indonesia in April, but experienced players Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna were left out.
All four were among a group of 11 who had refused to play against South Korea earlier this month owing to differences about team management, resulting in a 4-1 loss for the depleted Indian squad. The 11 agreed to play in the April 5-7 series after the All India Tennis Association conceded to several of their demands and on the condition that there will be a constant dialogue about any team management issues.
Sanam Singh and Leander Paes were the others selected in the squad, with Vijayant Malik and Sriram Balaji as the reserves.
Sanam was also among the 11 rebels while Paes was the lone prominent name available for the previous series.
Nishikori upsets Cilic to reach Memphis semis
In Memphis, Tennessee, fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan cruised past top-seeded Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-2 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the US National Indoor Tennis Championships.
Croatia’s Cilic had saved three match points in his previous match against Igor Sijsling, but could not find the answer against Nishikori, who had just four aces compared to a dozen for Cilic but won 69 percent of points on his serve.
“I was dominating with my serve,” said the 23-year-old Nishikori, who also reached the semi-finals in Brisbane in January but retired from that match against Andy Murray with a knee injury.
Since then, he has reached the fourth round of the Australian Open.
“It’s getting better every match... little by little,” Nishikori said of his game.
He next faces Australian Marinko Matosevic, a 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-4 winner over seventh-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine.
Nishikori won their only prior meeting at Brisbane earlier this year.
The other men’s semi-final in this combined ATP and WTA event will pit Spain’s Feliciano Lopez against Uzbekistan’s Denis Istoman.
Lopez defeated US wildcard Jack Sock 6-4, 6-3, and Istoman was a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) winner over Michael Russell of the United States.
In women’s action, big-hitting Sabine Lisicki of Germany set up a title showdown with Marina Erakovic.
Lisicki, the third seed, fell behind in each set but dug deep for a 7-5, 7-5 semi-final win over seventh-seeded Magdalena Rybarikova.
She will be vying for a fourth career WTA title.
New Zealand’s Erakovic defeated Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland 6-2, 6-4 to earn a shot at a first WTA title. She has two runner-up finishes on her resume, including in Memphis last year.