GOERGES UP NEXT

Petra Kvitova will play against Julia Goerges of Germany in the second round of the ongoing Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2013. This match will be played on Thursday and the starting time is 12:30 GMT.

Kvitova made her way into the second round with a win over Annika Beck of Germany. She defeated Beck by 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 in the first round. Although, Kvitova managed to come out victorious in that match but, she had to battle very hard.

On the other hand, Goerges didn’t have much difficulty in her first round match against Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. She won the first set easily by 6-2 and she was leading in the second set as well when Flipkens decided to leave the match because of injury.

Kvitova and Goerges have so far played two matches against each other and both have won one each. The last time that these two players had faced each other was in a Fed Cup match and Kvitova had won that match by 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Kvitova hasn’t played outstanding tennis in this season. She hasn’t been in bad form, but, she hasn’t rocked either.

Kvitova has won a title in the form of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, but, in most of the tournaments, she has disappointed her fans including the Fed Cup clash against Italy in which she suffered a defeat against Roberta Vinci. However, she came back to defeat Sara Errani in the reverse singles, but, even after that win, the Czech team couldn’t get better of Italy.

Recently, Kvitova reached the finals of the Katowice Open where she got defeated by Roberta Vinci again. So, her form has been alright, but, she has not been at her best.

For Goerges also, this season has been disappointing. She had started the season well and was the runner up in the Heineken Open, but, she couldn’t maintain the form that she showed in that tournament.

However, Goerges had won the title here at Stuttgart a couple of years back in 2011; so, she would have good memories of this venue.

Considering the current form and experience, one can say that Petra Kvitova is the favourite to win this match.

KVITOVA THROUGH

Petra Kvitova has defeated Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. Kvitova won the match in the straight sets by 6-2, 7-6(5). With this win, Kvitova has cruised into final 16.

It took Kvitova one and half hours to win this match.

Kvitova’s recent form has been pretty good. She was the winner of the recently played Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and she is continuing her good form in this tournament as well. She has played some fantastic tennis so far in this competition.

After winning the match, Kvitova said, “The start was fantastic for me. I didn’t commit too many unforced errors and had no problem in winning the first set. But, in the second set, she changed her approach and started playing with a bit more aggression. She was creating a lot of problems for me, but, at that time, it was important not to get frustrated and just hang in there. That’s what I did.”

“The surface was very slow and this type of surface doesn’t suit to my game. However, I am working hard to improve my game on slower surfaces.”

In the opening set, Kvitova got a couple of early breakthroughs which gave her a lead of 5-1. The Ukrainian youngster didn’t manage to make up for this early damage done by Kvitova and eventually, lost the set by 2-6.

In the second set, both the players got two breakthroughs each in the first four games and the scorecard was showing 2-2 when the 4^th game finished.

The next 8 games went with the serve due to which the scores got tied at 6-6 and the set went into the tie breaker.

In the tie breaker, the score was 5-5 at one stage and the set could have gone either way. A mini break for Kvitova right at the end ensured that the match would not go into the third set.

In the next match, Kvitova will face her countrywoman Klara Zakopalova.

KVITOVA WINS IN DUBAI

Petra Kvitova has defeated Sara Errani of Italy in the final of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. Kvitova won the match by 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.

With the help of this title victory, Kvitova has moved up in the world rankings. Before the start of this tournament, her world ranking was 8 and now, she is at no. 7. This was the fourth match between these two players. In the previous three matches, Errani was defeated by Kvitova. Read more »

KVITOVA LOSES OUT

Petra Kvitova has been defeated by Laura Robson of Britain in the second round of the Australian Open 2013. Robson won the match by 2-6, 6-3, 11-9. This was a great upset by the 18 years old youngster. She was completely outplayed in the first set, but, she didn’t get demoralized. She kept fighting hard and ended up pulling off an upset. The match went on for 3 hours and 4 minutes.

Kvitova made a brilliant start to the opening set. In the first four games, both the players held their service and the scorecard was showing 2-2. But, thereafter, nothing went in Robson’s favour in the opening set. Her service was broken twice consecutively and she lost the last four games in a row.

In the second set, Robson made a comeback. The first three games went with the serve. Robson broke Kvitova’s service in the fourth game and then, held her service in the fifth game to take a profound lead of 4-1. Robson got another breakthrough in the sixth game to make the score 5-1.

The British player just needed a serve hold in the next game to grab the set, but, she didn’t manage to do that. She dropped her serve in the 7^th game. Kvitova reduced the lead to 3-5 with a serve hold in the 8^th game. The Czech player needed one more breakthrough to make a comeback in the set, but, that didn’t happen. Robson served out the ninth game with ease and sealed the second set by 6-3.

In the final set, Kvitova was off to a fine start. She broke Robson’s service in the second game and won the first three games in a row to take a lead of 3-0. But, she wasn’t able to keep the lead till the end. Robson got a breakthrough in the fifth game and then, she levelled the scores with a serve hold in the sixth game.

Robson had the chance to take the lead in the 11^th game when she got a breakpoint, but, she didn’t capitalize on that opportunity and the match went further. The British player eventually got a breakthrough in the 19^th game and then, she sealed the third set and match with a serve hold in the 20^th game.

In the third round, Robson will take on Sloane Stephens of USA.

KVITOVA STARTS IN BRISBANE

Petra Kvitova will start her 2013 season by participating in the Brisbane International tennis tournament in January. Kvitova had participated in this tournament twice in the past as well.

In 2009, she was knocked out of the tournament from the very first round after being defeated by Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. While in 2011, she won this tournament by defeating Nadia Petrova of Russia in the final.

Kvitova didn’t participate in Brisbane International this year and decided to begin her 2012 season by participating in the Hopman Cup.  She performed quite well in the Hopman Cup and won four matches to help her team win the title.

She continued her form in the Apia International Sydney tennis tournament and the Australian Open as well and reached the semi finals of both these events. It was a great start for the Czech superstar and it seemed that she was on her way to become the no. 1 player in the world. But, unfortunately, she got injured and had to remain out of action for six weeks.  After getting fit, she made a comeback by participating in the BNP Paribas Open, but, she didn’t manage to perform well in that tournament and was knocked out from the third round after being defeated by Christina Mchale of USA.

In the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships, Kvitova’s performance was quite decent. She reached the semi final in the French Open, while in the Wimbledon Championships; she managed to make her way into the quarterfinals.

After that, she won the Rogers Cup which was played at Montreal and then, grabbed her second title of the year by winning the New Haven Open. In the US Open, Kvitova performed decently and reached the fourth round where she was defeated by Marion Bartoli.

Overall, 2012 was not one of the best seasons for Kvitova and she would definitely like to improve her performance in the next season.

KVITOVA MISSES OUT

The no. 1 player of Serbia, Ana Ivanovic, defeated Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in a singles match in the final of the Federation cup. Ivanovic won the match in the straight sets by 6-3, 7-5. It took her 1 hour and 47 minutes to win the match.

However, Ivanovic’s victory couldn’t seal the title for her country as her countrywoman Jelena Jankovic was thrashed by Lucie Safarova in the next match and Czech Republic won the Fed Cup.

After losing the match, Kvitova said, “I was not 100% fit. I lacked stamina and that’s why, I couldn’t bring enough power in my strokes.”

On the other hand, Ivanovic who was delighted after winning the match said, “It was an important match and I am happy that I stood up to the expectations of the fans. I had played yesterday as well and that experience certainly helped.”

In the first four games of the first set, both the players held their service. Ivanovic managed to break Kvitova’s service in the fifth game and then, she made her lead more profound with a serve hold in the next game. The scorecard was saying 4-2 in the favour of Ivanovic at the end of the sixth game. The next couple of games went with the serve. Ivanovic got another break opportunity in the ninth game and she latched on that break chance to win the first set by 6-3.

Both the players started the second set quite well. There were no breakthroughs in the first three games. Ivanovic broke Kvitova’s service in the fourth game and held her serve in the next game to get ahead by 4-1. The Serb lost her serve in the ninth game, but, she cashed on another break point that she got in the 12^th game and won the match.