After losing a narrow first set there was no stopping the world number one, who showed every bit of why she’s worth that title in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over the Czech seventh-seed.
It was a tight struggle the entire way through, with Barty only winning three more points than Kvitova throughout the entire match.
But it was smart, edgy tennis from the 23-year-old, who recognised her advantage on serve and kept going for the easy service points, even at the expense of eight double faults. It was also a remarkably brave performance after the slightly disgrunted Barty we saw following her narrow quarter-final win, in which she admonished herself for a “stupid set”.
