Last Sunday, Maria Sharapova beat Petra Kvitova in the China Open with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. It was a tough match with Kvitova winning four games in a row to force a decider. But thanks to Sharapova winning the first and final set and claiming the victory at around two hours and 28 minutes.
Sharapova and Kvitova have a rivalry but it seems that Sharapova has the upper hand by beating Kvitova five times now. But Kvitova is no pushover since she showed her strength last week in the Inaugural Wuhan Open and only dropping one set of the entire tournament.
During the post match interview, Maria says that, "But it's never easy playing against Petra. You don't always quite get a good rhythm." She goes on to say that, "She [Kvitova] became the more aggressive player in the second set. I think I took a few too many steps back and let her play that way. But I was able to lift my game again in the third and come out with a win."
Petra Kvitova had this to say to Sharapova, "I had some chances but Maria just didn't let them go. She just played really well." She goes on to say that, "What I did today was a great battle. It was small things and small points that make the difference in the end."
After winning the China Open, Maria Sharapova climbs to the number two spot in the world rankings which is just behind top 1 seated Serena Williams. It was a hard earned victory for Maria since she was not having the best time with a shoulder injury back in 2013 that prevented her from playing that year. During the start of the 2014 season she also dropped down to rank 9 when she did not qualify to any finals for the first few months.
In related news Novak Djokovic won the men's division of the China Open which will be his fifth China Open title after beating Tomas Berdych, 6-0, 6-2.
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