Petra Kvitova Overcomes Unruly Fan to Reach Miami Open Final

Twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova fought back from a first-set deficit to defeat Romanian Sorana Cirstea 7-5 6-4 at the Miami Open, booking her place in the hardcourt final for the first time on her 13th appearance.

Despite a routine opening, Kvitova faced a difficult situation when a fan supporting Cirstea breached the spectator etiquette, cheering loudly when Kvitova made an error and again in between her first and second serves in the sixth game. Kvitova lost her concentration and conceded the break point to Cirstea.

However, Kvitova regrouped and with veteran calm, broke Cirstea three times, securing a spot in Saturday’s final against last year’s Wimbledon winner, Elena Rybakina.

Kvitova, a Czech who won Wimbledon titles in 2011 and 2014, shared her thoughts on players from Russia and Belarus competing in sports events, stating that players from these countries should also be banned from the Paris Olympics next year.

In the men’s semi-finals, Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner defeated world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 in an epic duel, setting up a final meeting with Russian Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev survived a stern test from his friend and fellow Russian Karen Khachanov 7-6(5) 3-6 6-3 for a tour-leading 28th victory this season earlier on Friday.