Petra Kvitova wins the bett1open presented by ecotrans Group 2023

Red and white garlands floated down on Petra Kvitova. The fans in the wonderfully packed stands of the Steffi Graf Stadium at the LTTC "Rot-Weiß" e. V. stood in front of their seats and clapped persistently. An exceptional athlete. A tennis superstar. Petra Kvitova. The Czech had just won 6:2 and 7:6 against Donna Vekic in the final of the bett1open presented by ecotrans Group, which is endowed with 850,000 US dollars. It was Kvitova's 31st WTA Tour title in 42 finals.

The first set was a clear-cut affair with 6:2, but the second round was a high-class and dramatic exchange of blows. In the end, Kvitova won 8:6 in the tie-break.

"I didn't expect this title when the week started here. But grass is my favorite surface," Kvitova said. Nevertheless, she now did not want to be pushed into a role of favorite for Wimbledon, where she has already triumphed in 2011 and 2014. Donna Vekic, on the other hand, said: "Petra played unbelievably. In this form, she's a title contender everywhere."

Kvitova, No. 9 in the WTA rankings, has now won five of six matches against Donna Vekic. Still, she was full of praise for her opponent: "Donna had a great tournament week and is back in the top 20, where she belongs." More precisely: at No. 17. "That makes me proud," said Vekic, who for years repeatedly struggled with massive injury worries, and therefore even thought several times of ending her career. She honestly admitted: "My team sometimes believed in me more than I did myself. Thank you for that."

Early on in the tournament, the Berlin crowd had named Donna Vekic one of their favorites. And so Vekic promised, "I had a great time here in Berlin and will definitely be back next year!"