Dominic Thiem of Austria holds the trophy as he celebrates winning the final of the Barcelona Open Tennis Tournament against Daniil Medvedev of Russia in straight sets.Felipe Dana/The Associated Press
Dominic Thiem defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0 to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday.
The fifth-ranked Austrian cruised to victory for his second title of the year, adding to his triumph in Indian Wells last month.
Thiem defeated Roger Federer in the Indian Wells final, and Rafael Nadal in the Barcelona semi-finals to become the first player other than Novak Djokovic to defeat the Spaniard on clay four times.
It was Thiem’s first final on clay since last year’s French Open, when he lost to Nadal. He had also lost to the Spaniard in the Barcelona final two years ago.
The 14th-ranked Medvedev, coming off a semi-final appearance in Monte Carlo, was playing in his first clay court final.
The 23-year-old Russian started well by taking a 2-0 lead in the first set, but he was never in contention again after Thiem broke back a few games later to retake control of a match that lasted just more than an hour.
Thiem didn’t lose a set in his title campaign in Barcelona. It was the 13th career singles title for the 25-year-old Austrian, the ninth on clay.
Kvitova claims title in Stuttgart
No. 3 seed Petra Kvitova became the first woman to win multiple titles this season with Sunday’s 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory over Anett Kontaveit at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.
The 29-year-old Czech star also won the Sydney International in January. The first 18 events on the WTA calendar were won by 18 different players.
“It was amazing to see the arena full every day,” Kvitova said after defeating the eighth-seeded Estonian. “My coaches were not actually here, so I’m looking forward to seeing them again.”
The world No. 3 saved five of seven break points and served five aces.
Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and 2019 Australian Open finalist, raced to a 6-0 lead in the tiebreak. After Kontaveit saved two match points, Kvitova’s forehand winner clinched the victory in 1 hour 33 minutes.
Croatian takes Istanbul Cup
Croatia’s Petra Martic rallied from a set down to claim her first career title with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 win against Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup in Turkey.
Ranked as low as No. 662 in the world two years ago after a back injury, the sixth-seeded Martic celebrated her biggest career milestone after a 1 hour 49-minute battle.
Vondrousova, 19, raced out of the gates and won the first five games to take the first set.
Martic stormed back, converting six of her 11 break chances and taking advantage of 37 unforced errors by Vondrousova – 29 in the final two sets.
Berrettini a champion in Hungary
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini arrived in Budapest with a five-match losing streak but leaves as the champion after a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win against Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic.
Despite the slow start, Berrettini won 81 per cent of his service points and wore down Krajinovic with his aggressive play from the baseline.
“It was a really tough match. The conditions [were tough], it was cold and windy. The balls were moving a lot. So I was really focused on my game,” Berrettini said. “After the first set I just told myself to fight game after game, point after point and I’m really happy because it was really difficult.”
It is the second tour title for the 23-year-old Berrettini, winner of the 2018 Swiss Open.