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Kvitova claims career title No. 10

Petra Kvitova won in Dubay © PA Photos

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Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova claimed her tenth career WTA title on Saturday, as she defeated Sara Errani at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Kvitova, the sixth seed, looked on course for a comfortable victory after she claimed the opening set of the final, but Errani turned the tide emphatically in the second to set up a decider.

However, the former winner at the All England Club dug deep to wrest back the momentum once more - eventually securing a 6-2 1-6 6-1 triumph.

"I knew I had to keep fighting for every ball, because she was really on fire in the second set and continued that in the third too," Kvitova said. "I was just thinking to not give up and just fight for every point. When it was 2-1 and she missed a volley, and I think that was a turning point for me.

"I was quite down after the second set. I just tried to stay positive and just play."

She added: "I'm glad how I'm playing right now - that's the important thing for me. I'm not thinking this is a turning point or a turning tournament for me.

"Yes, it was a lot of great players here and it was hard to beat them, but I'm still just thinking about my game. That's the priority for me."

Kvitova had won all three previous meetings between the players in straight sets, but Errani was nevertheless disappointed not to produced the desired concluding result from an otherwise confidence-boosting week.

"I had many chances in the third, many game points, and I lost them," Errani said. "If I got to 2-2 there would be more pressure on her to close the match, but it was 4-1, 5-1, and then it was very easy for her."

She added: "I think it's always great to do a final. And also this court is very fast, so it's not my favourite court and it's tough for me to play on this court, so making the final is a very good tournament for me.

"I was fighting a lot every match. I didn't really expect to win one round maybe, so it was a very good tournament for me in the end."

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