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Germany's Kerber, who lost the Monterrey final to
Pavlyuchenkova in 2013, was denied her first tournament title of
the year in a see-saw victory by the Russian in stifling heat.
"I'm really overwhelmed and don't think I realised that I just
won my fourth Monterrey trophy," second seed Pavlyuchenkova told
reporters. "It's very special and it's a special place in my
heart.
"Playing against the number one player in the world is already
very special because everyone wants to compete against the
number one. You don't get so many chances to do it, so it was
one opportunity for me today. Beating her feels amazing."
Pavlyuchenkova seized the early advantage in the match, taking
the only break of the first set on her third set point.
Kerber won a long third game to break serve in the second set
and rode that momentum to level the match.
Pavyluchenkova, who reached quarters at both the Australian Open
and BNP Paribas Open this year, raced to a 5-0 lead in the final
set and served out to claim her ninth career title in just under
two hours.
The Russian was the clear aggressor, cracking 49 winners to 31
unforced errors while Kerber registered only 14 outright winners
in the final.
(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Andrew Both)
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