Kiki Bertens is an undoubted force following Madrid Open win
By Harry Floyd
Kiki Bertens is your 2019 Madrid Open champion in women’s singles, defeating Simona Halep. It is the biggest singles title to date in her career.
What a run it was for Kiki Bertens this week at the 2019 Madrid Open. She comes away with her first career Premier Mandatory-level tournament win and does so over an impressive list of players. In the finals, she came face to face with former world number one and French Open champion Simona Halep. During the clay court season, Halep is an easy favorite.
Prior to the championship match, Bertens also dispatched the likes of Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova among others. She was unstoppable in Madrid.
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The 27-year-old Bertens takes the final over Halep, winning 6–4, 6–4. In fact, she did not drop a single set throughout her entire time at the Madrid Open. That makes her the first player ever in women’s singles to accomplish such a feat at the event.
No-one took Bertens to tiebreak in Madrid. Stephens did manage a challenging second set during their semifinals meeting, but ultimately it was Bertens winning that 7-5 to advance into the finals. She was the seventh seed in Madrid but will clearly be on everyone’s radar even more moving forward.
Her win is also a redemption story. Last year, Bertens reached the finals at the Madrid Open, only to fall to Kvitova in a hard-fought three sets.
She made it all the way back and outplayed both her competition throughout the tournament and her former self. Lookout for Bertens moving forward on the 2019 WTA Tour. With wins in St. Petersburg and Madrid, she jumps into the WTA top five in women’s singles and is undoubtedly a top contender.
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On the men’s singles side of the action in Madrid, Novak Djokovic comes away with the title. He earns his 33rd career Masters 1000 title, tying Rafael Nadal in doing so. Hats off to Kiki Bertens and Djokovic in their impressive win this past week. We look ahead to the Rome Masters and the rapidly approaching 2019 French Open.