Kvitova sent packing at Sydney International

Updated January 06, 2013 20:28:58

The first big name has fallen at the Sydney International with women's fifth seed Petra Kvitova sent packing after a heavy first round loss to Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.

Kvitova's Australian Open preparations took a significant hit as world number 15 Cibulkova raced to a 6-1, 6-1 win in little more than an hour at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre on Sunday.

Czech Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, was ousted by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the Brisbane International and will head into the Open amid a worrying form slump.

Earlier, former world number one Caroline Wozniacki put her Open preparations back on track with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-2 win over Poland's Urszula Radwanska.

After beginning 2013 poorly with a shock first-round loss to qualifier Ksenia Pervak at the Brisbane International, the Dane rediscovered her form in a powerful display.

With boyfriend and world golf number one Rory McIlroy watching on from the stands, Wozniacki needed just 26 minutes to take the first set and was largely untroubled in closing out the match in tough conditions.

"It was quite hot out there, especially towards the end of the second set you could really feel it was starting to heat up," Wozniacki said.

"I'm just happy to get the first win of the season under my belt and just move on."

The seventh seed will next face either German Julia Goerges or a qualifier in the second round.

But Wozniacki will part ways with McIlroy, with the Northern Irishman to fly out on Sunday night after 10 days in Australia to commence preparations for the Abu Dhabi golf championship later this month.

In other matches, Australian Olivia Rogowska lost to Russia's Maria Kirilenko in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, while another Russian, Ekaterina Makarova, beat American Varvara Lepchenko 6-4. 4-6, 6-1.

AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted January 06, 2013 15:58:22

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Kvitova downs Li for Montreal title

Updated August 14, 2012 14:08:30

Petra Kvitova overcame a mid-match slump to claim her first title of the season with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 victory over China's Li Na in the Montreal Cup on Tuesday (AEST).

In an entertaining but erratic encounter between two former major winners, the fifth-seed's first tournament win since last October's WTA Championship will lift the Czech's confidence ahead of the US Open starting at the end of the month.

"It is great to have a good result in the Montreal Cup before the US Open. Finally I have played well," the world number six told reporters.

"It is a great preparation. I have played some good matches here and I hope that I can continue that."

The 22-year-old's maiden victory on North American soil pocketed last year's Wimbledon champion $385,000 but it was not without drama.

The momentum shifted several times during the match but none more evidently than when Li won the first 16 points of the second set to race into a 4-0 lead after the 30-year-old 10th seed had dropped the opener.

Li, who remains without a title in 2012 after losing finals in Sydney, Rome and now Montreal, had started well before Kvitova eked out a 5-3 lead.

The 2011 French Open champion, who will return to the top 10 in the world rankings, fought back to level at 5-5 but was unable to covert a further four break points before suffering a bout of nerves on her next service game to drop the set.

Li responded immediately, aided by some wayward play from her opponent, winning the first four games of the second set without dropping a point as Kvitova lost focus and struggled to land in the ball in the court.

That Kvitova made 16 unforced errors while hitting just one winner indicated just how off-target the Czech had become during the second set.

However, the 22-year-old regrouped at the start of the third and regained the advantage when Li overhit a forehand while trailing 2-3 to drop serve and Kvitova held her nerve to seal a much-needed victory.

Reuters

Tags: tennis, sport, canada

First posted August 14, 2012 13:41:21

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Sharapova to face Kvitova in semis

Updated June 07, 2012 08:13:49

Maria Sharapova has reached her third French Open semi-final where she will take on Petra Kvitova, the powerful Czech who crushed her in last year's Wimbledon final.

Russian second seed Sharapova, who was also a semi-finalist in 2007 and 2011, eased past Estonia's Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-3 while fourth-seeded Kvitova ended Kazakh qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova's dream run with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.

"I am happy to be back in the semi-finals. I love coming back here to challenge myself to go further in the tournament," said Sharapova, who can reclaim the world number one spot if she gets to Saturday's final.

"I won two tournaments coming into Paris in Stuttgart and Rome and they gave me a lot of confidence.

"But every event is different. I am just happy to improve and I know it'll get tougher from here."

Kanepi was broken seven times in the match and admitted that Sharapova had too much firepower for her.

"She attacked all the time, I didn't have any time to hit my shots and I just couldn't get any rhythm out there," she said.

"I was also very nervous and I am just sorry I didn't get to spend more time on the court.

"Maria is playing really well, she can win the tournament."

On another chilly, gloomy day in the French capital, Sharapova and Kanepi, who made the quarter-finals in 2008, exchanged breaks in the first two games before the Russian picked up two more in the third and seventh games.

Kanepi, the 23rd seed, saved two set points in the eighth game, but was powerless on the third when Sharapova unleashed a fierce serve down the middle which the Estonian could only deflect into the stands.

The start of the second set was just as untidy as the first with the world number two giving up a break to slip 2-0 down on a fourth double fault and then retrieving it immediately in the next to trail 2-1.

Kanepi, who put out former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the third round, was quickly another break down while a Sharapova hold to love gave the Russian a 4-2 lead.

Sharapova squandered the opportunity to serve out the match in the eighth game when she was broken to love but it was a brief respite for the 26-year-old Estonian, who ballooned a forehand wide to hand Sharapova the tie in the next.

Kvitova reached her first French Open semi-final with a battling victory over world number 142 Shvedova, who had knocked out defending champion Li Na in the fourth round.

Shvedova was bidding to become the first qualifier to make the last four at Roland Garros and she got off to a roaring start against Kvitova and was even 4-2 ahead in the deciding set before she wilted.

Kvitova held in the seventh game of the decider and immediately put pressure on Shvedova's serve to level the match at 4-4, followed by a crucial hold.

Serving at 4-5, nerves got the better of Shvedova, allowing the world number four to convert her second match point for a place in the semi-final.

"Every point that we played was really tough," Kvitova said.

"I knew that I had to change my game. It wasn't easy and I'm really happy that my serve helped me and I played my aggressive game again."

Kvitova's clash with Sharapova will be the pair's third grand slam clash within a year.

The Czech triumphed in the Wimbledon final before Sharapova defeated the Czech in the Australian Open semi-finals.

Crucially, Sharapova enjoyed a straight-sets victory in the semi-finals on clay in Stuttgart in the run-up to Paris.

Thursday's other semi-final sees Australia's Samantha Stosur taking on Sara Errani of Italy.

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, france

First posted June 07, 2012 05:52:33

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Aussie teen Barty falls to Kvitova

Updated May 30, 2012 06:22:36

She has been likened to a young Martina Hingis, but Ashleigh Barty will not make the French Open final as a 16-year-old like the Swiss Miss did.

The Australian wildcard's maiden campaign in Paris ended in a 6-1, 6-2 first-round defeat on Tuesday at the hands of Czech fourth seed Petra Kvitova.

Meanwhile, Jarmila Gajdosova joined Samantha Stosur in the second round after her Slovakian opponent Magdalena Rybarikova retired at 6-3, 4-1 down.

Gajdosova takes on former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the next round.

For Barty, playing the reigning Wimbledon champion on Court Suzanne Lenglen was always going to be a tall order for the youngest player in either of the singles draws for the clay court grand slam.

And it was all over in 54 minutes as Kvitova capitalised on Barty's obvious butterflies.

The just-turned-16-year-old's nerves were evident in the warm-up when she failed to land 13 straight practise serves.

Not surprisingly, the Queensland youngster then double-faulted on the very first point of the match.

Barty's performance was far from all doom and gloom, though.

The Wimbledon junior champion provided Australian tennis fans with a glimpse of the future as she matched Kvitova's back-court firepower for periods of the match.

Barty also showed grit to hold her opening service game with a big ace down the middle after fighting off two break points.

Alas, eight faults and too many missed dropped shots and netted slice backhands ultimately brought her unstuck.

Kvitova broke Barty three times to take the opening set in 25 minutes.

But Barty was not ready to raise the white flag, breaking Kvitova for the first time to nudge ahead 1-0 in the second set.

The teenager handed the break straight back with another backhand error, but remained with Kvitova until dropping serve for a fifth time in the sixth game to fall behind 4-2.

It was all over for Barty when she flayed a backhand long on Kvitova's first match point.

Later on Tuesday, Russian second seed Maria Sharapova took just 48 minutes to brush aside Romania's Alexandra Cadantu.

Meanwhile 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy, seeded 14, defeated Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-3, 6-1.

Kvitova now meets either Urszula Radwanska of Poland or Pauline Parmentier of France while Schiavone, 31 and last year's beaten finalist, advanced to a meeting with either Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium or Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria after ousting Date-Krumm - a decade her elder.

Date-Krumm broke serve in the opening game but thereafter the Japanese was unable to last the pace on a sparsely-populated but sunny Philippe Chatrier show court.

Other seeds to progress were Maria Kirilenko (16), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (22) and Kaia Kanepi (23).

Guernsey-born Briton Heather Watson, who managed to reach the second round on her debut last year, thereby entering the top 100, got off to a flier against Russian Elena Vesnina.

She romped through her opening set and stayed her ground to win 6-2, 6-4 for a likely match-up against Germany's 25th seed Julia Goerges.

AAP/AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, france

First posted May 29, 2012 20:33:51

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Kvitova dumped out of Indian Wells

Updated March 12, 2012 14:46:27

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova became the highest seed to exit the Indian Wells WTA tournament after a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss to American teenager Christina McHale in the third round.

The third-seeded Czech breezed through the opening set at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden but errors began creeping into her game and her 19-year-old opponent took control.

McHale, making her third appearance in the elite event, broke Kvitova in the fourth game of the final set and again in the eighth when the Czech finished with successive double faults.

Serving for the match at 5-3, McHale burst into a 40-0 lead and then sealed victory at the first opportunity, ending a lengthy rally with a delicate sliced backhand into the front court.

Meanwhile, Men's third seed Roger Federer defeated wild card Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-1 in the second round of the ATP/WTA Indian Wells tournament on Sunday.

Federer hammered eight aces and won 79 percent of his first serve points in the 57 minute night match on centre court.

Federer advances to the third round where he will face Canadian Milos Raonic, who beat Carlos Berlocq in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.

Reuters/AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, united-states

First posted March 12, 2012 14:12:59

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Kvitova to meet Sharapova in semis

Updated January 25, 2012 15:55:11

Czech Petra Kvitova will meet Russian Maria Sharapova in a semi-final of the Australian Open on Thursday.

Kvitova beat unseeded Italian Sara Errani 6-4, 6-4 while Sharapova overpowered compatriot Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.

Their clash will be a repeat of last year's Wimbledon final, which Kvitova won in straight sets.

Kvitova reached her first Australian semi-final after snuffing out a brief fight-back from Errani in the second set.

The clear favourite, the number two seed broke serve in the opening game of the match but found herself staring down a service break in the next as the pair fought for an edge.

The Czech took the crucial break to win the first set in 53 minutes before Errani battled her way to a 4-1 edge in the second set.

That was where her challenge ended though as Kvitova won the next five games straight, amassing three match points and sealing the clash after Errani netted a return.

"I expected a tough match because she has been playing well and also today played well," Kvitova said.

"Backhand or forehand, I never knew where the ball would come to so I had to concentrate on every point and always think about tactics."

Sharapova won the Australian title in 2008 but that August she underwent shoulder surgery and was sidelined for 10 months.

But on Wednesday the fourth seed displayed a pinpoint serve and power-packed returns to overwhelm Makarova.

She cruised through the first set in 42 minutes but had to fight to seal the match as Makarova saved three match points.

Sharapova eventually clinched a berth in the semis in one hour and 27 minutes.

"It's been a long road back but after all those winning points it's been worth it," said Sharapova, who anticipated a tough battle against Kvitova.

"She is playing the best tennis," she said.

Both Sharapova and Kvitova have a chance of becoming the world number one at the end of the Open.

AAP

Tags: australian-open, tennis, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted January 25, 2012 13:27:21

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Kvitova advances with Ivanovic scalp

Updated January 23, 2012 19:16:27

Reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova downed Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday.

After cruising through the first set Kvitova held off a late fight-back from the Serb to win 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) in 85 minutes in the first match of the day in the Rod Laver Arena.

The tall left-hander broke Ivanovic twice in the first set and once in the second, but was herself broken when serving for the match at 5-4.

Ivanovic held her next service game to love as Kvitova began to look shaky, but the second seed produced some big serves to take the set into a tie-break.

And Kvitova took charge of in the tie-break, quickly opening a 6-2 lead and sealing a place in the quarter-finals when an Ivanovic backhand hit the bottom of the net.

The Czech world number two hit more than twice as many winners as Ivanovic - 30 to 14 - which proved the difference between the two players.

"It was quite a hard match at the end of the second set," she said, adding that she was happy to be off the court early on a typically hot Melbourne day.

"I think I was quite lucky I played my match at 11:00am. It's hot, but we are in Australia so we are ready for it."

Kvitova has now reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the second year in row and will next play Sara Errani after the Italian defeated China's Zheng Jie 6-2, 6-1.

AFP

Tags: australian-open, tennis, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted January 23, 2012 12:42:03

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Sharapova, Kvitova advance to fourth round

Updated January 21, 2012 15:21:06

Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Ekaterina Makarova, Ana Ivanovic, Sara Errani and Zheng Jie have all moved into the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Former champion Sharapova beat German Angelique Kerber in straight sets while Kvitova's Russian opponent Maria Kirilenko retired with a leg injury.

Seventh seed Vera Zvonareva fell in straight sets (7-6 [7)] 6-1) to compatriot Makarova while Ivanovic made short work of Vania King, bundling her out 6-3, 6-4.

Italian Errani took longer to beat Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-7(6), 6-0, 6-2 and China's Zheng Jie upset ninth seed Marion Bartoli.

Zheng, a semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2010, beat Bartoli 6-3, 6-3 to set up a fourth round clash against Errani.

Second seed Kvitova was handed a berth when Kirilenko retired with the thigh injury while trailing 6-0, 1-0.

The Czech said she had to convince herself to keep playing at a high level as Kirilenko, who was hurt in the first game, put up little resistance.

"I just said to myself that I have to play still the same way as before and go for the balls and don't make many mistakes and by focused," Kvitova said.

Kvitova buried her head in a towel as she waited while Kirilenko went off court for an injury spell.

"Sometimes a timeout is very tough for us because when you are playing really well and then you have five minutes off, sometimes it's tough to get back and play as before," she said.

Kirilenko, the number 27 seed, said she had strained her abductor muscle, a problem she also suffered three years ago.

"I started to feel it in the first game," she said. "The game was very long but it was not so bad so I could still run.

"Then suddenly at 4-0 I was serving and I did a serve-volley and then I felt it badly.

"When I went back to the baseline and couldn't walk properly so I asked for the trainer."

Kirilenko said she took three weeks to recover the first time she had the injury and hopes that with rest, she will be fit to resume playing soon.

Sharapova won 6-1, 6-2, a scoreline that flattered the fourth seed, who was pushed hard by Kerber in the second set before winning in just under an hour-and-a-half.

The Russian, who won in Melbourne in 2008, broke Kerber three times in each set but had to battle in the second set as the German 30th seed lifted her game.

"I played a really good first set but she certainly stepped up in the second," Sharapova said.

"She was a semi-finalist at the US Open (in 2011) so she has been on the big stage before and I knew she could produce some good tennis.

"The second set was a lot tougher than the scoreline suggests."

Sharapova did not help her cause with 22 unforced errors, 15 of those coming in the second set.

But she always looked in control against Kerber, who defended well but was rarely able to come up with a big shot to hurt the Russian.

Sharapova remains in contention to finish the Australian Open with the world number one ranking, along with current holder Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka, all of whom are into the fourth round.

AAP/AFP

Tags: australian-open, tennis, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted January 21, 2012 12:01:40

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Kvitova, Sharapova power into second round

Updated January 17, 2012 17:50:03

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova powered into the second round of the Australian Open as Russia's Maria Sharapova also won her first match with ease.

After going 2-0 down at the start of the match, Kvitova won 12 straight games to sweep aside Russia's Vera Dushevina in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 in 71 minutes.

The Czech left-hander dropped her first service game but once she found her range there was nothing Dushevina could do to stop the onslaught.

Kvitova, 21, who reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne last year, broke the Russian three times in each set and faced only two break points on her own serve, underlining her dominance.

"After a slow beginning it was fine," Kvitova said. "You know, it looks easy, the score, but it wasn't. The games, some were very close and I'm glad that I'm through."

Kvitova now goes on to play Carla Suarez Navarro after the tricky Spaniard beat Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu 6-1, 7-5.

Former champion Sharapova demolished Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-0, 6-1 in less than an hour.

Sharapova, who won the title in 2008, was at her ruthless best as she overpowered the Argentine in stifling conditions.

It was an impressive display by Sharapova against a player who was once ranked as high as 26 in the world.

The Russian fourth seed also showed no signs of a left ankle injury that forced her to withdraw from the Brisbane International two weeks ago.

Sharapova claimed the first set in just 25 minutes and did not lose a game until 2-0 in the second set, when her serve temporarily deserted her. But she quickly recovered to break straight back and run away with the match.

"I knew I had a tough opponent today," a delighted Sharapova said afterwards. "I focused on every point and took her time away - she's a player who loves time on the ball."

Sharapova has a relatively easy passage into the third round with her next opponent US qualifier Jamie Hampton.

German 14th seed Sabine Lisicki survived a scare from Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, while Slovakia's 17th seed Dominika Cibulkova thumped fellow countrywoman Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-1.

Two seeded Russians also progressed. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (15) downed Czech Klara Zakopalova 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 and Maria Kirilenko (27) beat Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova 6-4, 6-2.

Elsewhere, Israel's Shahar Peer was a 6-2, 6-0 winner over Isabella Holland of Australia, Canadian Alexsandra Wozniak beat China's Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-3 and Vania King of the US downed Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

AFP

Tags: australian-open, tennis, sport, melbourne-3000

First posted January 17, 2012 15:52:44

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Kvitova on track as Wozniacki loses

Updated January 12, 2012 07:28:39

Caroline Wozniacki has been dumped from the Sydney International, opening the way for rival Petra Kvitova to seize the world number one ranking heading into next week's Australian Open.

Wozniacki crashed out to Polish world number eight Agnieszka Radwanska, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the quarter-finals after being broken while serving out for the match at 5-4 in the second set.

Radwanska will now face Belarussian third seed Victoria Azarenka in Thursday's semis, with Kvitova lining up against Chinese defending champion Li Na in the day's other semi-final.

Wimbledon champion Kvitova had an emphatic straight sets victory over Daniela Hantuchova, while world number five Li downed Czech Lucie Safarova 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).

Kvitova is on track to take the number one ranking by winning the tournament.

"To be honest, I don't think about it (losing top ranking)," Wozniacki said.

"The most important thing is to be healthy and be able play and play well.

"What happens happens. It doesn't matter."

Wozniacki, whose tenure at the top of the women's singles rankings comes despite not yet winning a grand slam in 19 attempts, was taken to a third set by Radwanska after appearing to be in a winning position.

The Dane seemed troubled by a left wrist injury as Radwanska broke her three times in the final to claim only her second victory in seven meetings.

"I hope it's not serious. I could feel it, especially in the third set," Wozniacki said.

"I'm going to go get it checked out tomorrow, and hopefully it's OK.

"Let's just hope for the best. I should be completely fine for Australian Open."

Earlier Kvitova reeled off the opening eight games before dishing out a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Hantuchova, the Slovak number 21.

Kvitova, who like Li has been in top form in preparation for the season's first grand slam in Melbourne, swept to victory, breaking Hantuchova's service five times for her fourth win over the Slovakian.

"I was surprised that I played well. In these (windy) conditions it's very tough to play," Kvitova said.

"Yeah, I'm still on the track. But still it's two matches, and the next one is really tough against Li Na," Kvitova said.

"She is tough opponent. She's in top five, so it will be good match for tomorrow."

Li said she was playing her best tennis since before last year's Wimbledon as she battled into the semi-finals.

The world number five needed one hour 50 minutes to subdue battling Czech Safarova in blustery conditions to move into the last four in the defence of the Sydney title she won last year.

It was Li's third win this week, continuing her upsurge in form after a dismal follow-up to her landmark French Open success at Roland Garros, which saw her become the first Asian to win a grand slam title.

Li, 29, was clearly relieved to have put her problems of the second half of 2011 behind her and is eyeing back-to-back Sydney finals.

"Of course I'm feeling good," she said.

"Win here last year and this year reach the semis in just the beginning of the year, yeah, I am feeling much, much stronger."

Li, who only won seven matches after her French Open breakthrough, said she was back in the form she had enjoyed prior to Wimbledon, where she bowed out to Germany's Sabine Lisicki in the second round.

"Last year before Wimbledon," Li said, when asked the last time she was playing at this level.

"I mean, even in Wimbledon I was feeling I was playing well. But after that I don't know what happened. Didn't work."

Belarussian Azarenka downed France's Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-4 in their quarter-final.

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted January 11, 2012 22:16:01

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Kvitova and Berdych in Hopman romp

Updated January 05, 2012 10:02:33

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and team-mate Tomas Berdych won their singles matches in straight sets on Wednesday to lead the Czech Republic to a 3-0 win over the United States at the Hopman Cup in Perth.

Kvitova opened with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 victory over Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Berdych beat Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-3.

Berdych saved four break points while serving for the match before converting his first match point to ensure the Czechs won their second straight match at the eight-country tournament.

Berdych and Kvitova made it a clean sweep when they beat Mattek-Sands and Fish 6-3, 7-5 in mixed doubles.

The extra point that the winners earned could help determine the final placings in Group A, where the Czechs are strong favourites to qualify for Saturday's final.

The Americans, who have won the Hopman Cup a record six times, fell to 0-2 after losing to Denmark in their opening match.

Both Mattek-Sands and Fish have been part of winning US teams before, but have come up short in the 24th edition of the tournament.

The Czechs and Denmark play each other on Friday, featuring a women's singles encounter between world number one Caroline Wozniacki and the second-ranked Kvitova, while the US plays Bulgaria.

"I'm happy that I won, but first still I have a lot of space for improvement because I didn't feel very comfortable on the court," said Kvitova, who could take over the top ranking from Wozniacki before the Australian Open if the Czech player wins the Sydney International next week.

Berdych, like Kvitova, has won both singles matches. He beat Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria on Monday.

"We are not in the final yet, so we still need to do well one more time," Berdych said.

"We are working well on the court."

Earlier on Wednesday, Tsvetana Pironkova and Dimitrov came back from a set down to win the deciding mixed doubles and complete a 2-1 Bulgaria victory over Wozniacki and Frederik Nielsen.

AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, australia, wa, perth-6000

First posted January 05, 2012 06:56:25

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Kvitova to play Sydney International

Updated December 05, 2011 13:51:50

Wimbledon champion and world number two Petra Kvitova will play in next month's Sydney International, tournament organisers said.

The 21-year-old Czech will become the third reigning grand slam titleholder to play in the Sydney event along with French Open winner Li Na and US Open champion Sam Stosur.

Kvitova, who also won the season-ending WTA Championships, will be playing in Sydney for the first time.

"I have had some great results in Australia over the years, winning in Hobart and Brisbane, so hopefully 2012 will be my year to win the title in Sydney," Kvitova said.

Both the top two ranked women's players will play in the Sydney International following last week's confirmation of world number one Caroline Wozniacki's entry.

Two-time grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt and 2010 champion Marcos Baghdatis are confirmed starters for the men's event.

The Sydney International takes place at the Sydney Tennis Centre from January 8 to 14.

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted December 05, 2011 13:04:57

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Sharapova tips big future for Kvitova

Updated July 3, 2011 14:54:00

Three-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova has predicted "great things" from Petra Kvitova even when the big guns of the women's game return to full fitness.

The 21-year-old Czech player enjoyed a life-changing experience following her 6-3, 6-4 victory over 2004 champion Sharapova in Saturday's Wimbledon final.

Kvitova's thumping ground strokes and relatively composed performance have some suggesting that her win at the All England Club might have signalled a changing of the guard on the women's side.

However it must be remembered the Williams sisters are still on the way back from long stints on the sidelines while Belgian Kim Clijsters missed the tournament with an ankle injury.

They have collected a whopping 24 grand slam titles between them.

While Venus Williams has not won a grand slam for three years, her sister Serena remains a title threat despite having a year out with a series of health concerns.

She had a minimal lead-up to Wimbledon this year but is expected to be back to her sharpest in time for the US Open.

Similarly if Clijsters is able to shake off an ankle problem, the 2009 and 2010 US Open champion will take some beating at Flushing Meadows.

However Sharapova thought that Kvitova had the game to handle any player.

"She's a grand slam champion," she said.

"She has a tremendous amount of potential to go even further and achieve many great things.

"If she keeps playing like that and keeps her level up, absolutely.

"She has a great game for it."

Eighteen-time grand slam winner Martina Navratilova said on the eve of the final that changes could be afoot on the women's side.

"Maybe this is the changing of the guard," she said.

"Maybe this is the new blood coming.

"The Germans have three really good players coming through (in Sabine Lisicki, Andrea Petkovic and Julia Goerges).

"Now Kvitova. (Victoria) Azarenka, I think she's going to be a force.

"Sam Stosur, a little bit of a disappointment this year, but potential also.

"I think we're seeing the new players taking charge."

Navratilova felt the younger players were not intimidated by the Williams' sisters anymore.

"They're not scared out there," she said.

"They're playing forceful tennis. It happens eventually. I wouldn't write off Serena Williams quite yet.

"I think Venus is two years older and it gets harder after 30."

Sharapova was not sure whether the trend of fresh faces winning grand slams would continue.

"Of course you're always going to see a younger generation rise up," she said.

"There's always going to be a generation one after the next.

"Ultimately they're going to step up at one point. It happened to be in this tournament. We'll see whether that continues for the years to come."

Kvitova was the first left-hander to win the women's Wimbledon title since Navratilova was last crowned champion back in 1990.

The youngster admitted bursting into tears after speaking to former champions and countrywomen Jana Novotna and Navratilova post-match.

Not that she was the only one in her family producing waterworks.

"He's still crying," she said of her father.

"I think he's crying now after every match."

-AAP

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First posted July 3, 2011 14:29:00

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Kvitova beats out Sharapova to win Wimbledon

Published:Sunday, July 3, 2011 1:38 AEST

Czech player Petra Kvitova reacts after beating Russian player Maria Sharapova during the women's final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in south-west London on July 2, 2011.

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Kvitova wins Madrid Open

Petra Kvitova celebrates match point over Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Madrid Open Spain on May 8, 2011.

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Kvitova upsets Azarenka for Madrid title

Posted May 9, 2011 07:20:00

Petra Kvitova claimed the biggest win of her career and a third title of the season when she upset fourth seed Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open.

The left-handed Czech 16th seed, who will break into the top 10 for the first time on Monday, overpowered Belarussian Azarenka with some booming groundstrokes to add to her successes in Brisbane and Paris.

The 21-year-old squandered a match point on the Azarenka serve at 5-3 in the second set but made no mistake a game later before raising both arms aloft in triumph.

"I played some of my best tennis today and this has been an amazing tournament for me," she said in a television interview beside the red clay court.

Kvitova, like Azarenka a tall, aggressive player who likes to dominate opponents, made much the faster start on the sun-bathed court and opened a 3-0 lead after breaking her opponent's serve in the second game.

Azarenka claimed a break of her own to get the first set back on serve before Kvitova upped her game to take the tie-break 7-3 and a one-set lead.

She carried her momentum into the second set, breaking again in the opening game but both struggled to hold serve from then on until Kvitova confidently served out for her first win in one of the four premier mandatory events on the WTA Tour.

Azarenka, who won the doubles title with Maria Kirilenko on Saturday, will rise one place above French Open champion Francesca Schiavone to number four when the rankings are updated.

The only left-hander in the top 30 and a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year, Kvitova will climb to 10th from 18th.

Azarenka, also 21, broke down at the awards ceremony before wishing her opponent luck for the rest of the year.

"I would like to congratulate Petra," she said. "She had a great week and fully deserved to win today."

The next stop on the Tour is in Rome before the French Open gets under way on May 22.

-Reuters

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