Sabalenka beats Kvitova 6-3, 6-3 to win Qatar Open

Posted February 29, 2020 6:00 am

The Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar (AP) - Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus won the sixth title of her career with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Petra Kvitova in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.

The 21-year-old Sabalenka needed less than 75 minutes to complete the win, sending down seven aces and hitting 21 winners in clinching her third title in six months - after those in Wuhan and Zhuhai.

Sabalenka sealed the first set with an ace, and survived five break points against the two-time Wimbledon champion in the fourth game of the second set.

Kvitova sent a volley wide to give Sabalenka the title on her fourth championship point.

Kvitova beat No. 1-ranked Ashleigh Barty on Friday for the first time in more than a year to play for her second Qatar Open title. The Czech player won the 2018 final against Garbine Muguruza,

Ninth-seeded Sabalenka and eighth-seeded Kvitova are now 2-2 head-to-head.

Kvitova was playing for her 29th title, and first since April.

___

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.