BRISBANE – Petra Kvitova stamped herself as an Australian Open contender after she overpowered Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 6-3 to claim the Brisbane International here Saturday. Although most people hardly gave her a chance of beating Petkovic, who had been in imperious form all week, the 2010 Wimbledon semi-finalist tore up the script as she demolished her German opponent in 71 minutes at the Pat Rafter Arena.
Petkovic’s groundstrokes, which dominated her opponents in the early rounds, barely troubled Kvitova throughout the final. There was nothing Petkovic could do to stem the flow of winners from Kvitova, who started the tournament with a first round defeat of third seed Nadia Petrova. She said she would now go to the Australian Open full of confidence. “I played very well here and had some tough matches so I now have a lot confidence and hopefully I will also play well in Melbourne,” she said. “We’ll see which round I get to.”
SODERLING TO FACE RODDICK IN BRISBANE FINAL: Top seed Robin Soderling will take on second-ranked Andy Roddick in the final of the Brisbane International after both men survived tough semi-final examinations on Saturday. Soderling enjoyed a 6-3, 7-5 win over a typically feisty Radek Stepanek in the first semi-final, before defending champion Roddick overcame big-serving South African Kevin Anderson in three sets 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the second.
