Czech tennis star Petra Kvitová wins Qatar Total Open for 28th career title

Czech tennis star Petra Kvitová handily defeated Spain's Garbiñe Muguruza 6-2, 6-1 in Doha on Saturday to win the 2021 Qatar Total Open. The win marks Kvitová's 28th career title and second win at the Doha open.

This year's title match was a repeat of 2018, when Kvitová topped Muguruza 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Two years later, Kvitová needed far less time to top her opponent.

Kvitová, who will turn 31 on Monday, celebrated her birthday a couple days early with the victory in Doha. This weekend's title marks about 12 years since her first and two years since her previous, in April 2019 at Stuttgart.

The win brings Kvitová's record in title matches to an impressive 28-10.

“It’s been a great run in Doha for sure," Kvitová told reporters after the match.

"It’s been a great whole week. I just feel like home a little bit. I love the court, I love everything, and the people are really friendly as well.”

Kvitová was ranked #10 in WTA rankings heading into the tournament, though she'll look to move up after the title win this weekend.

The Czech star was seeded 4 in Doha, while fellow Czech Karolína Plíšková, currently #6 in WTA rankings, took the 2 seed. On Thursday, Plíšková was knocked out of the Qatar Total Open by unseeded American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-1 in quarterfinal action.

Kvitová got some revenge for her countrymate in the semifinals, however, taking out Pegula 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets.

With her 28 singles titles, Kvitová rates among the most successful women's tennis stars of the open era, ranking among the top 25 in career singles wins since 1971.

Among Czech players, Kvitová passed Hana Mandlíková by one title with the win in Doha to rank second all-time. Still, Kvitová has a long way to go to catch up to Martina Navratilova, the overall leader with 167 singles titles.

"I have work to do to catch up," Kvitová told Czech reporters after the match.