Andrea Petkovic survived a set point before steamrolling her way to an emphatic 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jana Cepelova in the final of the Family Circle Cup in South Carolina on Sunday.
I am constantly having these thoughts in my head and they are eating me alive, so it's been very rewarding the whole week and I'm just so grateful.”
But the second-seed regrouped quickly, winning 16 of the next 17 points and eventually putting Jaksic away in 60 minutes.
Petkovic, on the comeback trail from a string of injuries, used her powerful forehand to collect her third WTA title in a match that lasted 79 minutes on the green clay in Charleston.
“This is the biggest title I’ve ever won,” the tall 26-year-old Bosnian-born German told ESPN.
“I think this is going to give me a lot of confidence for the clay season. I was in big matches before my injuries but I never had the strength to do it.
“I doubt everything I do. I'm such a perfectionist. I'm very German (and) I throw tantrums and get really upset and grumpy.
I am constantly having these thoughts in my head and they are eating me alive, so it's been very rewarding the whole week and I'm just so grateful.”
Petkovic's career has been hampered by knee, back and ankle injuries, but she can compete with the best when healthy, as her world ranking of 10th at the end of 2011 proved.
But she did not have it all her own way against Slovakian Cepelova, who had a chance to win the first set but fired a forehand groundstroke into the net, a point that proved pivotal.
The match was evenly poised but 14th-seed Petkovic, buoyed by the reprieve, subsequently won the game on serve to tie the set at 5-5 and dominated thereafter.
She won eight consecutive games and raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set before sealing victory in fine fashion.
Cepelova beat Serena Williams in the second round, but her first WTA final ended on a disappointing note.
Nonetheless, the 20-year-old gave notice of her potential with some brilliant shots, though she was more erratic than Petkovic.
Ivanovic triumphs
Ana Ivanovic overpowered Jovana Jaksic 6-2, 6-1 in an all-Serbian final at the Abierto Monterrey Open on Sunday night, winning her second WTA title of the year and 13th of her career.
After a string of battles, including a few three-setters and a tight two-setter against fellow former No 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals, Ivanovic came into the final with perhaps the toughest challenge of them all -- a match with good friend Jaksic.
And the early goings didn’t go so well for Ivanovic as she lost the first six points of the match, including dropping serve at love in the opening game.
But the second-seed regrouped quickly, winning 16 of the next 17 points and eventually putting Jaksic away in 60 minutes.
Having also won in Auckland in the first week of the year, Ivanovic is now the third player this season to win multiple WTA titles, alongside top-2 players Serena Williams and Li Na
Additionally, it’s the first time the 2008 French Open champion has captured multiple WTA titles in a season since 2010.
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