Weekend Tennis Roundup

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova won her first title of the year with a dominant victory over Dominic Thiem's beard, Kristina Mladenovic, at the St Petersburg Open. 

 The Czech beauty needed just 65 minutes to beat 2017 champion Mladenovic 6-1, 6-2 for her 21st career WTA title. Kvitova, who was upset by Andrea Petkovic early at the Aussie Open, moves back up to 21 in the world rankings and surpasses Aggie Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka for most tour-level crowns by active players ... if you count Azarenka, that is.

Hungary’s Timea Babos defeated Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 7-5, 6-1 to win the Taiwan Open Sunday. The win comes on the heels of her doubles trophy in Melbourne last month, which she won with St. Petersburg runner-up Kristina Mladenovic. 

Germany's Alexander Zverev defeated Australia's Nick Kyrgios 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-2 to send Germany into the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

Reigning champs France advanced when stand-in player Adrian Mannarino earned them a 3-1 unassailable lead against the Netherlands on Sunday despite Les Bleus being without their two best players because of injuries. 

Mannarino came back from a set down against Robin Haase to clinch the decisive win with a 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-5, 6-7(2), 7-5 victory on Sunday to set up a last-eight tie with Italy, dramatic victors over Japan in Morioka.

Borna Coric -- who is not used to winning too many matches in a row -- defeated rising star Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil to help send Croatia to the final eight. Canada’s Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil looked to be in total control of their doubles match on Saturday, only to lose to Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig in five, 2-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2. 

 “This is definitely a hard loss to process,” said Pospisil.

Spain finished off a surprisingly competitive Great Britain, when Albert Ramos-Vinolas beat  Cameron Norrie in four sets on the Marbella clay. Norrie had come from two sets down to stun Roberto Bautista Agut earlier in the tie. 

David Goffin secured victory for the hosts in their Davis Cup tie against Hungary on Sunday with a hard-fought win over Marton Fucsovics in four sets. Goffin's 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win in two hours, 35 minutes gave Belgium an unassailable 3-1 lead and they will face USA away in the quarterfinals of the competition in April. 

Fucsovics fought very hard in what was essentially a baseline duel, but the world No. 7, even though he was pushed by his 63rd-ranked Hungarian opponent, was unable to wrest the initiative when it mattered. Fucsovics, the hero of Saturday’s doubles win with Attila Balasz, was equal to Goffin early on in the match as the two players quickly found their rhythm and traded many long exchanges from the back of the court before eventually dropping his intensity in the third..

And finally, Kazakhstan beat former champs Switzerland, 4-1, with Dmitry Popko winning both of his singles matches.

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