Petra Kvitova withstood a spirited challenge from Ashleigh Barty to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 and claim her first-ever title in Birmingham. It is a remarkable achievement considering it is only the second tournament she has entered since returning from an enforced absence of six months after a burglar stabbed her playing hand in December.

And the Czech’s eventual triumph looked unlikely during the first set as Barty produced some superb tennis. The Australian’s serving was almost flawless in her first four service games as she only dropped one point. She also earned the only break of the opening set in the third game with a succession of excellent backhands. When serving for the set in game ten, Barty almost gave it away with a couple of untimely unforced errors that led to a break point chance for Kvitova. But she gathered herself to save it by forcing an error with a precise cross-court forehand and then hit an ace and another returnable serve to seal the hold and the first set 6-4.

Kvitova raised her game immediately in the second set, serving accurately and returning much better to open up a 3-0 lead in the blink of an eye. The Czech looked like she would win the set 6-1 but hit two double faults and two unforced errors during an awful game that handed one of the breaks back to Barty. The Australian then held to love but Kvitova calmed the nerves of her followers with a routine hold to take the set 6-3.

The first point of the third set was the best of the match, as both players were dragged all over the court by their opponent before Kvitova drilled a forehand winner into the corner. The Czech followed that up with a string of deep returns that forced Barty into errors and granted her an early break. However, the Australian showed her fighting spirit when she broke back in the fourth game. She somehow got to a deep ball from Kvitova and scooped it over the Czech’s head. The two-time Wimbledon champion tried to smash it in for a winner but hit it long and gave Barty a break point. The 2017 Malaysian Open champion secured the break by hustling Kvitova into an error and leveled up the deciding set.

Kvitova responded by demonstrating exactly why she had won two Grand Slams and 17 other titles before today’s final. She hit three unstoppable winners in a row to earn break point, then an error from Barty sealed the break. After an ace and three more superb winners from Kvitova made it 4-2, the Australian seemed to suffer under the pressure as she made two unforced errors and lost her serve to love. The experienced Czech served out the match in style with two unreturnable serves followed by an ace on match point to clinch the 20th title of her career.

Reflecting on the win, she said, “Today I was nervous before the match and through the first set, and I was up and down in the match. And because I haven't played many matches, it takes more energy. But overall I'm very happy. I didn't expect this in my second tournament after my comeback. It's kind of a fairytale.”

When asked whether it meant more than previous trophies, Kvitova replied, “Definitely, yes. It's hard to say anything, but I think I've been through a very difficult time in my life, and it wasn't about the tennis, but (I’m so glad) to come back healthy and alive and move my fingers properly and everything like that. And this is something clearly special. It's some bonus to have in my life and my career and everything. And that’s why I fight that hard to come back and play tennis. I always said that I'm not here just to play. I'm here to play my best and win trophies. So I'm proud of myself that I did it today.”

The two-time Wimbledon champion came through a tough test against Barty today, and she was quick to praise her opponent’s performance. She said, “She played great. She has a totally different game to other girls. She's playing very nicely and I think (her game is) nice to watch. It's worse to play. With her slice and how she sees the game, it's something really unusual. She served very well too.”

Kvitova was delighted that, after some struggles at the French Open, her fighting spirit helped her respond to the Australian’s challenge. She said, “The worst (time) was in Paris when I really couldn't put the bad thoughts away. This week I was much better. I got a little bit emotional in the last game of the match. But it was just for a while and it means a lot that I'm still able to play well after that. Mentally I'm getting better every week.”

She continued, “That was one of the positive things I had in Paris against Bethanie (Mattek-Sands), that I had still the fighting spirit because I just didn't know how everything would be. But today I knew it would be there. In the important points, it was there, and I'm happy that I managed to show it, and it's amazing to feel it again.”

Finally, Kvitova paid tribute to her team. She said, “They stayed with me in such a horrible time. And I think that made us stronger in the end. Sometimes people get stronger when something bad happens and I feel our team is stronger now.’ She continued, ‘They support me all the time. I know that now is not a difficult time when I am not playing bad, but I think that if I play bad or don’t win many matches, they will still remember that we had more difficult times than just losing matches. So, I'm really happy they (get to) see moments like this.”