“It is very valuable to me. On Wednesday night, I decided to accept the wild card. But before that, I was lying in bed with a sore throat,” Kvitová described.
After an unequivocal start, when the opponent born in Zadar, Croatia, was bound by respect, the duel was even. Twenty-seven-year-old Peraová already knocked out two Czech hopefuls in Ostrava in the qualification – eighteen-year-old Barbora Palicová and two years younger Nikola Bartůňková. And she dared to use a much heavier caliber.
“Physically, I couldn’t handle it yet. As the surface is slow, it was very challenging. He didn’t give me a chance to go any further. But the serve helped me in the third set,” said Kvitová, who hit eleven aces. “It was up, down, but history doesn’t ask for that.”
In Ostrava, the home star was traditionally helped by the fans. “They were great. They chanted, they cheered it. I like it here,” said the winner, who, after losing six games at 0:2 in the third set, breathed in to attack, even though she was definitely not in an ideal mood. “I’ve got a cold,” she huffed.
In the second round, Kvitová will face world number four Paula Badosa of Spain, with whom she has a 1:1 record.
Photo: Jaroslav Ožana, CTK
Petra Kvitová in the first round match against the American PeraPhoto: Jaroslav OžanaCTK
“The last time we played together was at Wimbledon (5:7, 6:7), and that’s completely different than indoors. But her serve is excellent, I couldn’t break her on grass. That will be the key. We’ll get into it and play fast, so it could be a nice match for people,” the home player is looking forward to.
“I know that (Badosa) hasn’t been in ideal form lately, but she’s still excellent,” adds Kvitová.
