Against Collins: Kvitova without losing a set in the final

"The final means everything to me," said Kvitova, who triumphed at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014: "I've finally made it this far again at a major." Jana Novotna, who died at the end of 2017, was the last Czech to reach the final of the Australian Open 28 years ago. For Kvitova it is already the best result in her tenth participation. If the left-hander wins the title, she will take the lead in the world rankings on Monday.

Collins was only able to keep up until the tiebreak of the first set. The 25-year-old had knocked Wimbledon winner Angelique Kerber and German number two Julia Görges out of the tournament, but suffered her second defeat of the year against Kvitova after 1:34 hours. At the WTA tournament in Brisbane, Kvitova won the duel in three sets.

Extreme heat interrupts the match For the first time this year, the roof over the Rod Laver Arena had to be closed due to the extreme heat. When the score was 4:4 in the first set, there was a short break; the games on the outside courts were interrupted in temperatures of almost 40 degrees. Under the hall roof, Kvitova was unstoppable and celebrated her eleventh win in a row. She had already won the title at the preparatory tournament in Sydney.

"I was very nervous in the first set," admitted Kvitova. When the roof was closed, she was even “happier than the fans,” who had previously barely endured the sun. "I like playing indoors," said Kvitova, "and I love finals." In fact, her record is impressive: Kvitova has won 32 of 25 finals so far.

In the final on Saturday, Kvitova, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, will face US Open winner Naomi Osaka. The Japanese won against Karolina Pliskova in the second semi-final (see own report).

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Against Collins: Kvitova without losing a set in the final

Czech Petra Kvitova is playing for her third Grand Slam title in the final of the Australian Open. The two-time Wimbledon champion won in Melbourne against semi-final debutant Danielle Collins from the USA 7:6 (7:2), 6:0.

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