Andrea Petkovic ended a surprising week at the Family Circle Cup by winning her first WTA tournament in three years, outlasting Jana Cepelova for a 7-5, 6-2 victory on Sunday.
Petkovic was once ranked ninth in the world before several injuries slowed her progress and cost her much of the 2012 season. She entered this one seeded 14th, ranked 40th in the world and with few expectations about her first clay-court event of the season.
Instead, Petkovic's powerful forehand and grind-it-out mindset helped her oust three straight top 10 seeds in No. 4 Sabine Lisicki, No. 9 Lucie Safarova and No. 6 Eugenie Bouchard on the way to the finals.
The 26-year-old German used that same formula against Cepelova, a rising 20-year-old from Slovakia competing in her first WTA final.
“I still have a long way to go for me and I have a lot of potential,” Petkovic said. “But I feel I'm on the right track.”
Cepelova led 5-4 and was a point away from capturing the first set. But Petkovic rallied to win that game and begin a run of eight in a row to take control of the match.
“I have to let loose and play like I can,” she told herself.
Petkovic was energized after winning the crucial game and quickly broke serve to move in front. She took the set a game later and continued her run to build a 5-0 lead that Cepelova could not overcome.
‘A different feeling’
For Petkovic, the victory was more gratifying than her two other career WTA wins because of all her struggles. She was 177th in the world in March 2013 and was beaten in the second round of French Open qualifying, a loss that had her contemplating giving up the game.
This “is a different feeling,” she said. “Now, I'm much more grateful. It's more rewarding.”
Petkovic earned $120,000 for her third career WTA victory, which was her first since winning in Strasbourg in 2011.
Petkovic won the title in her second appearance here. She had reached the round of 16 last year, but had to withdraw from a match against Caroline Wozniacki.
