Story highlights
Petra Kvitova and Tomas Berdych give Czech Republic victory in Hopman Cup teams event
Women's No. 2 Kvitova ends the week in Australia unbeaten in four singles matches
Czech players Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka win first doubles title of WTA Tour season
Estonia's Kaia Kanepi claims her first title by winning final of the Brisbane International event
World No. 2 Petra Kvitova continued her perfect start to 2012 by helping the Czech Republic win the Hopman Cup teams event for the second time, beating France 2-0 in Saturday’s final.
The Wimbledon champion ended the week undefeated after her 7-5 6-1 win over ninth-ranked Marion Bartoli in Perth, Australia.
The 21-year-old, who won the season-ending WTA Championships in October, also saw off the challenge of world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki on Friday and did not drop a set against American Bethanie Mattek-Sands or Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova.
Seventh-ranked Tomas Berdych gave the Czechs an unbeatable lead when he triumphed 7-6 (7-0) 6-4 against Richard Gasquet to also be undefeated in the men’s singles and leave the French still seeking a first title.
“It was a really good match (against Wozniacki) but today I played much better against Marion and it’s always tough to play with someone at the top,” Kvitova said.
“It’s really good to win at the beginning of the season, and of course I have to say thank you to Tomas because without him we wouldn’t win.”
It was a good day for Czech tennis players, as Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka won the first doubles title of the WTA Tour season at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
The French Open champions beat Germany’s Julia Gorges and Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 10-7 in a match played indoors after the singles final was rained off.
Pennetta will be back on court on Sunday when she faces China’s Zheng Jie in the rescheduled singles final.
Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi claimed her first WTA Tour title by beating Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 6-1 in the final of the Brisbane International on Saturday.
The 26-year-old, ranked 34th, followed up her earlier victories over Italian third seed Francesca Schiavone and German No. 2 Andrea Petkovic.
She had never beaten 24th-ranked Hantuchova in three previous meetings, and her opponent fell to her ninth defeat in 13 career finals.
“In previous years I’ve been a surprise player – I was able to beat higher-ranked players, but then maybe lose to lower-ranked players,” Kanepi said.
“Now I’m playing more stable, not making as many errors. I’m beating top players more consistently. Hopefully I can get that ranking myself one day.”