Petra Kvitova admits she feels less relaxed at Wimbledon than at any other Grand Slam but is trying her best to control her nerves at the tournament.
The Czech eighth seed sealed her place in the third round with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2, win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in just over 70 minutes. It was a convincing performance from Kvitova who won 83% of her first service points and fired 25 winners past her opponent. It is the eighth time she has reached the last 32 of the tournament but only the second since 2015.
“I knew what I should expect from her game. I don’t have any nice memories of my Centre Court match against her but I turned it around today, so I’m happy that I won.” Said Kvitova who lost to Sasnovich at Wimbledon five years ago.
The world no.9 is currently one of the most in-form players on the Tour and has now recorded seven wins in a row. Before Wimbledon, she clinched her 31st WTA title in Berlin where she scored notable victories over Karolina Pliskova, Caroline Garcia and Dana Vekic.
“Everybody knows that I like to play on the grass. It’s my favourite surface. I love it. Doesn’t matter actually where it is.” She said.
“At other Grand Slams, I am more relaxed than I am here. I’m trying to be relaxed but it’s not easy. Still with the experience I’m still trying to find out what I can do new and what I can’t.”
The All England club is the only major event Kvitova has won in her career. Her maiden triumph was back in 2011 when she defeated Maria Sharapova in the final. Three years on from that she lifted the title once again.
So how does Kvitova relax during her favourite tournament?
“I’m trying to go for a coffee, a walk and watch some good movies, not only watching tennis,” she explained.
“I do watch tennis, most of the time it’s the men. Last night I watched Murray-Tsitsipas, that was nice tennis.”
Kvitova will play qualifier Natalija Stevanovic in the next round. She has now won 73 Tour-level matches on the grass so far in her career.
