Petra Kvitova is in contention of claiming the world No.1 ranking on Monday after downing home favourite Ashleigh Barty 6-1, 6-4, in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The world No.6 produced a dominant display against her 22-year-old rival, who previously took a break from tennis to embark upon a cricket career before returning. The Czech went out guns blazing from the onset as she fired 25 winners past Barty and won 67% of her service points. Overcoming a late surge from Barty to seal a place in the last four of a major for the first time since the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.
“It was a great match.” Kvitova said afterwards. “I started very well, I served well, I took the first break and I think from that moment I had the upper hand.’
“In the second (set) she came back. Didn’t give me anything for free and I had to fight until the end.”
Kvitova had previously never lost to her Australian rival coming into the match after claiming all of their three previous meetings. She continued that dominance during what was a one-sided opening set. The two-time Wimbledon champion blasted the ball around the court as she roared to a 6-1 lead in just 28 minutes. Silencing the usually loud crowd on the Rod Laver Arena by winning 30 out of the 47 points played.
Despite her early dominance, Kvitova remained cautious of the threat she faced. Less than two weeks ago, she edged Barty out in a three-set epic at the Sydney International. Barty had a duo of chances to break the Kvitova serve in set number two, but came up short. On her first attempt at 1-0 in the Australian’s favour, Kvitova slammed a 170 km/h ace down the line to save break point and level 1-1. Two games later it was with the help of a another speedy serve that set her up for a forehand winner that denied Barty.
Kvitova’s resilience behind her serve eventually wore down her opponent. A forehand shot from her opponent landed beyond the baseline to hand her the break and a chance to serve the match out at 6-1, 5-4. Tasked with booking a place in the last four at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2012, Kvitova cruised to victory. Sealing it with the help of another Barty mis-hit.
“She has a great slice backhand and can really mix it up. I needed to be very low to hit it (the ball) as I could to not really give her a chance to play her game. That’s what I tried.” Kvitova said about the tactics she used against Barty.
Awaiting the 28-year-old is the semi-finals will be underdog Danielle Collins. A player who had never won a grand slam main draw match prior to this tournament. It will be the second meeting between the two this year after Brisbane. On that occasion Kvitova prevailed 6-7(6) 7-6(6) 6-3, during what was a marathon first round encounter.
“It was over three hours, but hopefully it will be less here (in Melbourne).” Kvitova joked. “She doesn’t have the experience, but on the other hand, she is fearless and plays very aggressively.
“I remember the match from Brisbane, it was really up and down. I need to play better this time.”
As a result of the win, Simona Halep will lose her world No.1 ranking on Monday. A position she has held continuously for almost 11 months. Kvitova has a shot at claiming the top spot along with Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova. In Kvitova’s case, she needs to finish at least one round ahead of Osaka to reach top spot. On top of that, if she faces either Svitolina or Pliskova in the final, she will need to win the title. The Czech has been ranked as high as two in the world before.
