Following her semifinal round triumph over the home crowd favorite Zhang Shuai, two-time Wimbledon titleholder Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic defeated Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Sunday to claim the 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China.

The 26-year-old native of Bilovec secured her 19^th career title with a remarkable 6-4, 6-2 victory over Svitolina after a sluggish start during the opening set. The hard-hitting Kvitova won the title without dropping a single set all throughout the duration of the prestigious tennis event.

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"She played a little bit more aggressively than me in the beginning of the match. So I was trying to get the rhythm to play a little bit more aggressively," Kvitova told reporters after the match.

With the victory, the left-handed Czech tennis star registered her six straight wins against the 22-year-old Ukrainian player since losing to Svitolina in the round 32 of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. USA two years ago.

Kvitova, who reached her singles career-high as the world No. 2 on October 31, 2011, revealed that she had been inspired by Angelique Kerber's rise to the top.

"The number one spot is still missing in my career. I know how difficult it is. We just saw how Angie did it. It's a great thing to have for sure," Kvitova said.

The newly-crowned champion of the WTA's year-ending Tour Championship event currently sits on the 13^th spot in the latest world ranking. Kvitova will be earning 700 ranking points after winning the tournament's title.

She has garnered a total of 2840 ranking points in the 21 tournaments this season. Kvitova is just 615 points behind world No. 10 Johanna Konta of the Great Britain and her most recent success in Zhuhai would improve her world rankings.

TagsPetra Kvitova, Elina Svitolina, Johanna Konta, wta elite trophy zhuhai, Zhang Shuai, wta rankings