After two matches ending 7-6 in the third, it was stupid to even think that Petra Kvitova would reach the final of Paris here in one piece, let alone demolish Kim Clijsters to take the title. Yet here she stands, the champion of the Open GDF Suez.

I’ve always been pretty torn on Petra Kvitova. Such an insanely talented ballstriker, but she has always been so, so inconsistent. However, her transformation over the past year has been unbelievable. Not only is she now in the best shape of her life, but she has finally learnt the art of winning ugly. Before, there were only two sides to Kvitova – the huge hitter that bulldozed through opponents, finding every line on the court. And, then, well, the huge hitter that self destructed, finding every part of the stadium but the court.
But as witnessed by her matches this week, she now knows how to reign in her game when not playing well and find away through. Those matches only helped her confidence, and from then on it was plain sailing.

As for Kim, I don’t think she can or will be too upset with this result. A good week for her still, and even though she doesn’t care very much, rising back to number one on Monday will be a pretty good consolation prize, no? And if that isn’t enough, she still has those Grand Slam titles to keep her warm.

But there are an exciting few months ahead for the WTA. I expect Petra to be exhausted in her next few tournaments, but with the Williams sisters on the way back in the near future, these two playing extremely well, and then a series of other contenders waiting to pounce, this clay season could well prove one of the most exciting in years.

(Pic via Getty)

I guess it’s only fitting that the two players with the best records so far this year (16-1 for Clijsters and 15-1 for Kvitova, with one loss each) should complete in the final here in Paris.

It should be intriguing at the very least. We saw Kim breeze past two big hitters in her last two rounds, but Kvitova undoubtedly has more to bother Kim than the other two at this point in time. When playing Kim, for aggressive players I think there are two pillars that must be followed religiously;

Firstly, it’s about using the whole court. We watched yesterday as Kanepi attempted to hit deep and heavy down the centre in order to push Kim back behind the baseline and wait for the short ball. That tactic works well against most, and Kanepi’s reigning in of her game was the driving force behind last year’s two quarterfinal runs and the reason why she will move into the top 15 for the first time on Monday. However, Kim feeds off pace and deflects it back into the corners with minimum effort, so it’s all about dragging her off the court, getting her on the run and putting the ball as far away from her hitting zone as humanly possible. Kvitova, of course, has that swinging lefty serve at her disposal which will help a lot, and she enjoys creating angles and moving opponents around, which is a good starting point.

But that’s not enough. The other vital ingredient will be to get forward behind those big shots and finish them at the net. Remember the Australian Open final? Na had step one down to a tee, moving Kim around beautigully. But. Those. Damn. Drive. Volleys. They were so bad that it got to the point where I, and practically everyone else on the planet supporting her was screaming at the TV “LET THE MOTHERF$%£*$£ BALL DROP!”. But when she did, it simply gave Kim a chance to recover back into the point, and usually win it. And so confidence in the forecourt is vital. But again, Kvitova also excels when moving forward, and she has really shown some brilliant net instincts and touch almost reminiscent of Navratilova herself, both this week and in general.

So, in a nutshell, Kvitova has the tools to beat Clijsters, but whether she can execute perfectly, and whether Clijsters will give her a chance to execute perfectly, is another question altogether. The pair have played twice before, both in 2010, with Kim dropping a mere 5 games in both matches combind. When asked to recall her previous meetings with Kim, Kvitova hilariously exclaimed “They were so quick!” But it’s a new day, and Kvitova’s form this week doesn’t compare with the error-strewn confidence-lacking Kvitova of those periods in 2010, so we’ll see what she brings to the table in the final showdown of the Open GDF Suez.

So buckle up kids, it should be a good ‘un.