Petra Kvitova has refused to look for excuses after crashing out of the Australian Open on Wednesday to a player ranked 60 places lower than her.
The world No.8 fell 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in what is her earliest exit from the tournament since 2018. Two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova was far from her best as she leaked seven doubles faults and 44 unforced errors. The lacklustre performance also saw the Czech get broken two consecutive times in the opener and then three times in the third set.
Kvitova’s loss concludes what has been a disappointing Australian swing after she also lost in the third round of the Yarra Valley Classic, which also took place at Melbourne Park. To put that into perspective at the 2019 Australian Open she reached the final and then the quarter-finals in 2020.
“I unfortunately couldn’t take the chances to win the first set. I think that was really the key of the match,” she commented on her loss to Cirstea.
“I played a great second set. But I think all the games which we played over those two hours were pretty close and there was a lot of deuces.’
“Of course, it’s a little painful and I’m really disappointed about my loss. I didn’t really bring the best tennis today. It’s really hurting. But I can’t really do anything right now.”
Preparation for the Grand Slam has been like no other with all players having to go into a 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Australia. Some of whom had to stay in their rooms after being declared a close contact of somebody who tested positive for COVID-19. Kvitova was not one of those players as she dismissed the idea that the quarantine affected her form.
“This match wasn’t really about the quarantine or just practicing differently,” she stated.
“I should have taken the first set when I was leading a break. I was really fighting, losing four or five games in the row. This can’t happen to me, unfortunately.”
The defeat is Kvitova’s earliest loss in a Grand Slam since the 2019 US Open where she also lost in the second round.
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Cirstea is through to the third round in Melbourne for the fourth time in her career. She will next play 19th seed Markéta Vondroušová who beat qualifier Rebecca Marino in straight sets.
