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Petra Kvitova guaranteed her return to the top 10 in the world after seeing off Elena Rybakina to claim the Miami Open title.
The 33-year-old outgunned her opponent 7-6 (14) 6-2 to take her 30th career win and reclaim a place in the upper echelons of the WTA rankings when they update on Monday.
Kvitova was last in the top 10 in September 2021 and she proved she was worthy of the status by seeing off a player currently sitting seventh on the list.
Rybakina carried a 13-match winning streak into the final but was unable to take a set off her Czech opponent.
The opening set took more than 67 minutes as the pair pushed each other all the way to a tie-break that was eventually settled 16-14 after a lengthy battle of wills.
Kvitova, who had served unsuccessfully for the set at 5-4 up, defended five set points before closing it out.
Elena Rybakina’s 13-match winning streak was ended in the Miami Open final
With Rybakina’s resolve broken, Kvitova reeled off the first three games to take a commanding lead in the second set.
The Kazakh saved a break point to avert losing a fourth but could not a lay a glove on Kvitova’s serve. A second break followed at 5-2, sealing Kvitova’s triumph.
The loss ended Indian Wells champion Rybakina’s bid for the ‘Sunshine Double’ and snapped the reigning Wimbledon champion’s winning run.
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