Petra Kvitova encountered a roller coaster start to her French Open campaign with a hard fought 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, win over Danka Kovinic in the first round of the French Open.
At a rainy Roland Garros, the two-time Wimbledon champions got off to a shaky start as she took eight minutes to hold her first service game of the match. The nervous start to the match by Kvitova was the only setback in an otherwise flawless first set performance. Breaking her 21-year-old opponent in the second game, Kvitova eased to a 3-0 lead with ease before the match was briefly halted due to the rain. Resuming play, the Czech continued to dominate the rallies as Kvonic’s error count increased. A stunning forehand cross-court winner handed Kvitova the opening set after 42 minutes of play.
Hey there Petra 👋🏼 #Kvitova takes 1st set. Her ground strokes look even better in real life #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Kr7Vzfzpdm
— Rafa Nadal Ireland (@RafaNadal_Ire) 22 May 2016
This week’s French Open is Kvitova’s 31st appearance in a grand slam main draw compared to Kovinic’s sixth. This difference in experience was irrelevant during the second set as the Czech wasted a seemingly commanding lead. Kvitova was on the verge of racing to the victory as she lead 6-2, 3-0, 40-15. The momentum gained by the match favourite was disrupted after a series of stunning shots from Kovinic allowed her to battle back and win two straight games. In the challenging conditions, both players struggled with their service. The World No.12 broke for a 4-2 lead before a double fault handed the break back to her opponent.
The sudden turn of events worsen for the Kvitova camp after back-to-back unforced errors handed Kovinic the chance to serve for the second set. The frustration for the Czech grew as she wasted three break point chances to level the set 5-5. The wasted opportunities allowed the underdog to seal the set with a stunning overhead lob.
The resurgence of Kovinic was unsurprising considering her season. Earlier this year, she took Kvitova to three sets before losing in a tiebreaker and last month she reached the final of the Istanbul Open.
The third set took a different route to the first two with both players matching each other game by game. Kovinic had four chances to break during the final set, but failed to capitalise as Kvitova battled to keep her French Open chances alive. The perseverance from the underdog finally paid off at the crucial moment following a dismal game from the Czech. Three double faults within one game gifted Kovinic the break and a chance to serve for a place in the second round.
Facing the prospect of a first round exit in Paris, the fighting spirit of the Czech continued as a forehand winner rewarded her with another break. This time Kvitova took advantage of the break by holding her serve to love, to move from one game from defeat to one game from victory. The late surge in momentum continued after a forehand winner rewarded her with his first match point. On her first time asking, the 10th seed clinched the match after a backhand from her opponent failed to go over the net.
This year marks Kvitova’s eighth appearance at Roland Garros and only once before has she suffered a first round loss to at the tournament, which was against Australia’s Sophie Ferguson in 2010.
The first round win, which lasted two hours and 16 minutes, he set Kvitova up with a second round meeting against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei. Su-Wei booked her place in the last 64 by defeating Lara Arruabarrena 7-6(8), 6-3.
Strong start for Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Proceedings were much more straightforward for 24th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The 2011 French Open quarter-finalist dropped only two games during her 6-2, 6-0, win over Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo. The Russian produced 20 winners and won 81% of her first serves during her first round triumph.
Another player to book her place in the second round was Swiss qualified Viktorija Golubic, who defeated Alison Riske 6-2, 1-6, 6-2.
