Week in Review: Kvitova, Garcia boosted by Cincinnati success

The Insider Wrap is a recap of everything you need to know from the week that was. This week, WTA Insider looks back at the Western & Southern Open, where Caroline Garcia extended her torrid form and Petra Kvitova, Ajla Tomljanovic and Caty McNally also posted key wins.

Performance of the Week: Caroline Garcia

Caroline Garcia's WTA 1000 Cincinnati triumph, nearly five years after she claimed her last WTA 1000 titles in back-to-back weeks at Wuhan and Beijing in 2017, made everyone sit up and take notice.

But to those who had been recently tracking former World No.4 Garcia, her run through a top-tier event was not exactly a surprise. Let's break down Garcia's hot summer.

Since June, Garcia has won the most main-draw matches of any player on tour. Within that run is three titles on three different surfaces: WTA 250 titles on the grass of Bad Homburg in June and the clay of Warsaw in July preceded her victory on the hard courts of Cincinnati.

Garcia has also wrested the title of ace leader on tour away from Elena Rybakina, who used that shot superbly to win the Wimbledon title. Garcia exits Cincinnati with 286 aces on the season, outpacing second-place Rybakina's 262.

Garcia has also notched four Top 10 wins during this timeframe, defeating World No.1 Iga Swiatek on the Pole's home soil in Warsaw, then collecting victories over Maria Sakkari, Jessica Pegula, and Aryna Sabalenka this week.

Champions Corner: Garcia casts aside her doubts to make history in Cincy

Frankly, 28-year-old Garcia has turned her season around after going 7-9 in the first half of the season. Since Roland Garros, Garcia has gone 28-6, and she has improved her ranking from a nadir of No.79 in May (her lowest ranking since 2014) to her current position of No.17.

It remains to be seen just how hot Garcia can get with the US Open looming, but her confidence and form makes a return to the WTA Finals for the first time since 2017 a distinct possibility. This week, Garcia rises 13 big spots to No.9 in the Race to the WTA Finals.

Honor Roll

Petra Kvitova: Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova came up one match short in Cincinnati, but she still made it into her milestone 40th career singles final.

It was a rollercoaster week for Kvitova, who had to save a match point in her first-round clash with last year's Cincinnati runner-up Jil Teichmann. After that, though, she earned wins over No.5 Ons Jabeur and 2019 champion Madison Keys on her way to the final.

After dipping to No.34 in the rankings earlier this year -- her lowest position since 2010 -- Kvitova, like Garcia, is also back on the upswing. The former World No.2 rises seven spots to No.21 today.

Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko: A bevy of top doubles teams have been posting consistently strong results this summer, and Kichenok and Ostapenko are near the top of that pack, bolstered by their second team doubles title of the year in Cincinnati.

Champions Corner: Fun and friendship the key for Kichenok and Ostapenko

The Ukrainian-Latvian pair are 20-3 in their last six events, which also include a title at Birmingham, a final at Eastbourne, and semifinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. They are up to No.2 in the Race to the WTA Finals, only 50 Race points out of the No.1 spot.

Ajla Tomljanovic: The Aussie pulled off a career-best performance at a WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati, gritting her way to her first quarterfinal at this tier with four consecutive three-set wins (including in the final round of qualifying).

Tomljanovic has already excelled at major events, having reached back-to-back Wimbledon quarterfinals over the last two years. But this was a big step forward at a WTA 1000 event, which included her third career Top 5 win over Paula Badosa in the second round.

Caty McNally: The 20-year-old American had a confidence-boosting performance in her home event. McNally ousted Top 40 player Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round for her first WTA 1000 main-draw victory, battling through cramps before taking a third-set tiebreak.

In the second round, McNally pushed No.5 Ons Jabeur down to the wire, holding three match points before barely succumbing in another third-set tiebreak.

"Playing in this event has always been a dream of mine, but to actually win, it's kind of like getting over that hurdle," McNally said after her first-round win. "Feels really good. There is no better way to win your first Masters 1000 [match] than at home."

Quotes of the Week

Petra Kvitova has been busy handing out compliments to her competitors all week. On Madison Keys, before and after their semifinal:

On Caroline Garcia, after the final:

If she keeps this up, Kvitova might very well win the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award for a record-extending ninth time.

Next Up

The tour moves to two WTA 250 events this week:

• The second edition of Tennis in the Land presented by Motorola Edge in Cleveland, Ohio, where 2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova is the No.1 seed
• The inaugural Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby in Granby, Quebec, where the top seed is World No.10 Daria Kasatkina

Cleveland and Granby are the last remaining stops before the year's final Grand Slam event: the US Open in New York City.

US Open 2022: Draws, dates, prize money, and everything you need to know

US Open qualifying also takes place this week. Main-draw play at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center commences on Monday, August 29.