Kvitova defeats Cirstea to reach Miami final
Petra Kvitova is through to her 41st WTA singles final where she will face in-form Elena Rybakina after defeating Sorana Cirstea 7-5 6-4 in the Miami Open semi-final.
Kvitova, 33, already has 29 singles titles under her belt, including eight at the WTA 1000 level.
Despite showing she can still compete with the best – making the final at the 2019 Dubai Championships, the 2020 Qatar Open and the 2022 Cincinnati Open, her previous WTA 1000 victory came at the 2018 Madrid Open.
Against Romania's Cirstea, who came into the contest with nine wins from her past 10 matches, Czech veteran Kvitova was put on the back foot early as her serve was broken to go 5-2 down.
But she saved two set points, and used that momentum to ignite a run of seven consecutive games, taking the first set and the early break in the second as a result.
Kvitova did not allow Cirstea to produce a single break point opportunity in the second set, winning 75 per cent (21-of-28) of her total service points to slam the door shut.
With the win, Kvitova joined Chris Evert and Serena Williams as the only women to reach the Miami Open final after turning 33 years old, booking her place against Rybakina, the hottest talent on the tour, in the decider.
Rybakina has won her past 13 matches, and is looking to become the fifth woman to ever complete the Sunshine Double after eliminating both world No.1 Iga Swiatek and world number two Aryna Sabalenka to lift the Indian Wells Open title.
