Petrá Kvitová Reflects on Wimbledon Success and Health Challenges

“Wimbledon is always difficult, for better or for worse. I’ve had the best moments of my tennis career here, but also the worst. There’s always a mix of emotions that’s hard to manage. I have a lot going on in my head, so I try to react rather than think to different pressures and enjoying tennis,” said Kvitová.

The week-old triumph in Berlin encouraged her. She won the tournament even though she had a cold at the end. “Even before the second match on Saturday, I had a fever and I didn’t know if I would play in it. I somehow managed it, but I knew that I had to go to the final the next day, which was difficult,” she recounted. This is also why she withdrew from the tournament in Eastbourne this week, where she would have defended last year’s title. “I’m still sniffling a little now, but it’s already better than in Berlin. I still have some time before the first match, so hopefully it will be good,” she said.

Kvitová has won two tournaments this year, before the German Open she succeeded in Miami in April. The last time she won two trophies in one season was four years ago. “I take it that I have a lot more than planned this year,” Kvitová pointed out. “When I won Miami, I was fulfilled. Now I have two trophies, which is great. Berlin was also a tough and strong tournament. But it gave me another taste for tennis and the belief that I can play with good players who can do it on grass he can,” said the world number nine.

Before Wimbledon, the winner of the tournament from 2011 and 2014 does not feel like a co-favorite. According to her, defending champion Jelena Rybakinová from Kazakhstan and Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenková of Belarus have the best chances.

“I know that Jelena had some health problems now. She scratched in Paris, lost in Berlin and withdrew from Eastbourne. But it’s a Grand Slam and the fact that she won here last year will give her confidence. Aryna can also play well here. She has a good serve, she plays fast and I would rank her among the favorites. And Petra Kvitová? She never knows anything, so you have to wait,” said the Czech tennis player with a smile.

The highest seeded Czech player in the tournament sees differences even in the local grass, which is denser and slower than in Berlin. “She’s just so Wimbledon. But I hope the last title will give me a healthy self-confidence that I was able to play well on grass again. It wasn’t just boom boom and leaving in the first round,” said Kvitová, who was eliminated in the 3rd round last year in London with the Spaniard Paula Badosa.

Although she has won Wimbledon twice, she does not know the recipe for success. “If I had known him, I would have stuck to him a long time ago,” she pointed out, pointing out that nine years have passed since the last triumph. “It’s been a while, so it’s harder. But again, I’m glad that I managed it twice, and not just once. Thanks to that, we enjoyed the second title all the more. However, every year is different and it’s very difficult to to remember what was true then. Tennis has moved on and everything changes,” she stated.

Just like last year, she will face the Italian Paolini in the 1st round. A year ago, Kvitová won after a reversal 2:6, 6:4, 6:2. “I don’t remember much about it. Maybe it was just a fight. I know she moved quite well and I didn’t expect her to play so well on grass. But that match will be about me again. A classic,” Kvitová declared

While she was limited by a sore leg at the previous Roland Garros Grand Slam, she is fine now. “Even before Paris, I went a lot for lasers, radiation and other things. I just couldn’t train much, so I went there blind, and that’s how it turned out,” she recalled. “Then I finally started training and we played on concrete. It got better there and we’ll see how it goes. It (the injury) can happen at any time and it’s quite unpredictable. I’m taking care of that heel every day and I hope that for as long as possible will last,” she wished.

In London, she and the team rented a house in the Southfields area. Her brother and his family will also support her on the spot. “We’re all together. I’m glad for that, it’s such a relief,” she said.

Kvitová also got engaged to coach Jiří Vaňek at Wimbledon last year and later added that the wedding should come after a year. But now the winner of 31 titles on the WTA circuit has not revealed anything about her. “That’s what you’d like to know, wouldn’t you? But I won’t say anything. It’s a secret,” added Kvitová, amused.

2023-07-02 23:10:09
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