Petra Kvitova wins Eastbourne after easing past Jelena Ostapenko, Caroline Garcia beats Bianca Andreescu in Bad Homburg

Petra Kvitova won Eastbourne International for the first time with a convincing 6-3 6-2 win over 2021 champion Jelena Ostapenko.

The 32-year-old will go into Wimbledon full of confidence next week after a high quality, but ultimately one-sided final and becomes the third Czech to win Eastbourne after Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna.

“I have already experienced losing in a final so this time I got a little bit lucky,” Kvitova said after the match.

“Playing on the grass is very special for me every time, especially when you step on as beautiful court as the one here.”

Kvitova raced into a commanding lead against her Latvian opponent who was struggling to win points on her own first serve. Kvitova broke Ostapenko in her first service game to surge into a 3-0 lead.

The two-time Wimbledon champion continued to pressure Ostapenko’s serve, but it would prove to be just the one break that got over her the line in the opening set.

Ostapenko’s unforced error count continued to rise and she was broken in the third game of the second set after striking a limp forehand into the net.

Ostapenko could not capitalise on any of her five break point opportunities in the fourth game and it seemed to be the moment when the Latvian’s resistance was broken as Kvitova immediately followed up to secure a double break, and soon the match.

In Germany, Caroline Garcia won the Bad Homburg Open with a 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 victory over Canada’s Bianca Andreescu.

In their first meeting on the WTA Tour, it was Garcia – who had not reached a WTA Tour final since Nottingham in 2019 – that came out on top in a two hour, 41 minute contest to win her third career title on grass.

Andreescu was the first to break serve in the fourth game before Garcia immediately broke back to level.

Both players held serve from then on as the opening set came down to a tie-break. Andreescu immediately roared back on the two occasions Garcia went a mini-break up before the Canadian sealed it thanks to a Garcia forehand into the tramlines.

Garcia fought back in the second set. She came back from 4-2 down to reel off four games in a row to set up a tense decider.

And a similar pattern followed in the third as Andreescu went into a 2-0 lead before Garcia responded with four games in a row.

Garcia served out the match and sealed championship point when Andreescu fired a forehand long.

– – –