By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday August 30, 2022
Where does Petra Kvitova’s drive and motivation come from at this point of her career?
She was asked just that after her first-round victory over Erika Andreeva on Day 2.
“I am questioning myself as well about it,” she said. “I think it's kind of tough, but when I play, and when I'm in the match and I'm fighting, that's something which I love, actually, and that's the thing which still keeps me going.”
The 32-year-old has been playing the Grand Slam circuit since 2008, and says that she is sometimes saddened about the friends that have now left the tour, like compatriots Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova.
“I think it's a bit tougher, and sometimes, like when Barbora Strycova said that she's finishing in the Fed Cup that year, and was pretty sad because Lucie Safarova did the same," Kvitova said on Tuesday in New York. "I was like, ‘Oh, my God, who is still with me here?’ That was pretty sad because we spent a lot of time not only in the Fed Cup but even in the locker room, or Magdalena Rybarikova when she was still playing.
"My generation is kind of going [away]. So it is a bit tough, but I have to keep going still.”
The 21st-seeded Czech, who faces Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina in the second round, will need that type of attitude if she hopes to match her best career performance at the US Open. She is 32-14 lifetime after Tuesday’s win, but hasn’t been to the quarterfinals in New York since 2017.
Perhaps this is the year? No matter what happens, she’ll be out there fighting for it.
“I don't think it's really motivation, to be honest, but it's just really enjoying tennis,” she said. “Like since I have been kid, I just love it, and I always fight very hard on the court, that's what my father really taught me well, I think. That's something which it's always bringing me something special for myself.
“Yeah, I just like the fight.”