Petra Kvitova produced a tennis masterclass to oust world no. 1 Ashleigh Barty in a three-set thriller at the Qatar Total Open 2020. Despite her height; it was always gonna be a tall order for the Czech star; but she did it with a quite-brilliant display of offensive tennis.
Barty; being one of the smartest players on tour; dug into her box of tricks; using her renowned one-handed slice backhand to literally take the edge off Kvitova's famed forehand; and it was working as she came back to level the match with a decisive second set.
As the decisive third set got underway; she inexplicably decided to abandon that tactic; going for a normal flat backhand instead; and handing the initiative back to her opponent with some devastating forehands; particularly of the inside-out variety.
This semi-final was balanced on a knife-edge throughout; with consecutive breaks deep into the final set only adding tension to the fire. When all was said and done; the fact that Kvitova managed to win the match even having won fewer overall points than her opponent; more or less said it all.
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