Kvitova Outguns Zvonareva In Istanbul
By: James Waterson
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Photo Credit: Samuel Kubani/AFP/Getty Images
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(October 25, 2011) World No. 3 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic outgunned Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-4 in the first round-robin match of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships Tuesday.
Zvonareva went into the match holding a 3-2 record against Kvitova, and she’d beaten the Czech twice this year in straight sets.
But the 21-year-old Kvitova showed the type of form that saw her win five WTA titles this year, including Wimbledon. After trading early breaks of serve, she broke Zvonareva’s at 2-all in the first set, and then thoroughly outhit her opponent for the next five games.
The Russian held to reach 1-2, but Kvitova broke again with a powerful down the line forehand winner to claim a 4-1 lead.
Then, in a stunning shift in momentum, the Czech hit four unforced errors to drop her serve, and then played poorly in the next two games to let Zvonareva level the set.
The momentum seemed decidedly in Zvonareva’s favor, but Kvitova capitalized on some of the Russian’s unforced errors to break and give herself the chance to serve out the set. After a few nervous points, Kvitova capitalized on her first match point with a crosscourt forehand volley winner.
"To tell the truth I was very nervous," Kvitova said an on-court interview with Eurosport. "I was in the locker room before the match with my coaches and couldn't even move, and my stomach was turning. It's a new experience for me here. But it's important for me that I won my first match and I hope to keep playing at a good level the next days."
For the match, Kvitova hit 24 winners to 24 unforced errors, compared to Zvonareva's eight winners and 17 unforced errors. She also broke serve seven times, while she was broken twice in each set.
Kvitova’s result today was her first career win in the WTA Championships and her 54th of the season.