Kvitova dethrones Mladenovic to claim St Petersburg's title

SAINT PETERSBURG: Czech Petra Kvitova brushed aside defending champion Kristina Mladenovic of France in straight sets on Sunday to claim the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy, her 21st WTA crown.

Two-time former Wimbledon champion Kvitova, who appeared in the main draw courtesy of a wildcard, prevailed 6-1, 6-2 to chalk up her fifth win from six meetings with fourth seed Mladenovic, who is ranked 10th in the world.

World number 29 Kvitova broke Mladenovic's serve twice to take the opening set in half an hour.

And an immediate break at the start of the second set saw Kvitova establish an iron grip on the hard court match at St Petersburg's Sibur Arena.

The Czech left-hander also impressed on serve, firing seven aces and winning 81 percent of points on first serve.