Petra Kvitová

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Petra Kvitová

Petra Kvitová, 2011
Country  Czech Republic
Residence Fulnek, Czech Republic
Born 8 March 1990 (1990-03-08) (age 21)
Bílovec, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 68 kg (150 lb)
Turned pro 2006
Plays Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money US$ 6,805,074
Singles
Career record 210–96
Career titles 7 WTA, 7 ITF
Highest ranking No. 2 (31 October 2011)[1]
Current ranking No. 3 (5 March 2012)[1]
Grand Slam results
Australian Open SF (2012)
French Open 4R (2008, 2011)
Wimbledon W (2011)
US Open 4R (2009)
Other tournaments
Championships W (2011)
Doubles
Career record 8–24
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 196 (28 February 2011)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 2R (2011)

Petra Kvitová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpɛtra ˈkvɪtovaː], English: /kəˈvɪtəvə/; born 8 March 1990) is a Czech professional tennis player. Known for her powerful left-handed shots and variety, she has won seven WTA singles titles. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 2 in October 2011, and is currently ranked world no. 3. 

Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles, becoming the first Grand Slam event winner born in the 1990s, and the third player to win the WTA Championships in her first attempt. She has also reached the semifinals of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and the 2012 Australian Open.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Petra Kvitová was born to Jiří Kvita[2] and Pavla Kvitová in Bílovec, Czech Republic (in 1990 still in Czechoslovakia). Her father Jiří introduced her to tennis.[3] During her childhood, she liked Czech player Martina Navratilova. Kvitová trained in her hometown until the age of 16, and was then encouraged by an instructor to pursue a professional career in tennis.[4]

[edit] Playing style

Kvitová is known for her fast left-handed serve. At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, she had 36 aces, the third-most of any woman.[5] She is also noted for her heavy forehand, backhand, variety, and timing, and is known to make up for her lack of speed by playing close to the baseline.[6][7]

[edit] Career

[edit] 2008–2010: Early career

Kvitová began 2008 by upsetting Anabel Medina Garrigues in France and former world no. 1 Venus Williams in Memphis, reaching the second rounds of both tournaments.[8] She reached the fourth round of her first Grand Slam tournament, the French Open, in which she lost to Kaia Kanepi in three sets. She advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2008 Zurich Open as a qualifier, thus placing her in the top 50 for the first time.[8]

Kvitová won her first career title in the 2009 Moorilla Hobart International, defeating Alona Bondarenko, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Virginie Razzano, and Iveta Benešová. After suffering consecutive first-round losses in the Australian Open, the Open GDF Suez, and Dubai, she reached the third round in Indian Wells, losing to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva.[9] She withdrew from the 2009 French Open due to an ankle injury and lost in the first round of Wimbledon. At the 2009 US Open, she defeated then-world no. 1 Dinara Safina in the third round in three sets, before losing to Yanina Wickmayer in the fourth. Kvitová was ranked 71 places lower than Safina at the time. At the Generali Ladies Linz, Kvitová reached her second final of the year, losing in straight sets to Wickmayer.[9]

She reached the semifinals of the 2010 Cellular South Cup, and lost to eventual champion Maria Sharapova.[10] She went on to reach the semifinals of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, defeating Sorana Cîrstea, Zheng Jie, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, and Kaia Kanepi, before losing to then-world no. 1 and defending champion Serena Williams, 6–7, 2–6. She was then guaranteed to reach the top 30 for the first time. Following Wimbledon, she broke a six-match losing streak at the 2010 US Open, when she defeated Lucie Hradecká, and Elena Baltacha, losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters in the third round.[10]

[edit] 2011: Breakthrough

Kvitová holds the Venus Rosewater Dish

Kvitová started 2011 by winning her second career title at the Brisbane International, defeating Andrea Petkovic, 6–1, 6–3, in the final, and also earning wins over third seed Nadia Petrova and fifth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. With the win, she achieved the ranking of world no. 28.[11] 

Kvitová was the 25th seed at the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost a quarterfinal match to then-world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva. Her strong run ensured that she would reach a new ranking of world no. 18.[12]

In Paris, Kvitová won her second title of the year by defeating newly crowned world no. 1 and 2011 Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3.[13] Once again, Kvitová's ranking rose to a new high of world no. 14. She led the Czech Fed Cup team to the final round, with semifinal wins over Yanina Wickmayer and Kirsten Flipkens.[14]

Kvitová in the final 2011 Fed Cup against Kuznetsova

She won the title at the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open, defeating Alexandra Dulgheru, Chanelle Scheepers, second seed Vera Zvonareva, Li Na, and Victoria Azarenka.[15] She made her top-10 debut after the tournament at world no. 10. The following week, because Jelena Janković failed to defend her points in the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Kvitová moved one place up to no. 9.[12]

Kvitová was the ninth seed at the 2011 French Open. She defeated Gréta Arn, Zheng Jie, and Vania King in straight sets, before losing to eventual champion Li Na in the fourth round, despite leading 3–0 in the deciding set.[16]

Kvitová at the 2011 US Open

Kvitová won her first Grand Slam title as the eighth seed at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. She defeated Alexa Glatch, Anne Keothavong, 29th seed Roberta Vinci, 19th seed Yanina Wickmayer, 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova, and fourth seed Victoria Azarenka on the way to the final, where she beat fifth seed Maria Sharapova in straight sets, 6–3, 6–4.[17] She became the first left-handed player to win the title since Martina Navratilova in 1990, the first Czech player to win a Grand Slam singles title since Jana Novotna won Wimbledon in 1998, and the first Grand Slam tournament winner of either gender to be born in the 1990s.[18][19]

Following Wimbledon, Kvitová lost to Andrea Petkovic during two matches of the US Open Series. She was then upset by Alexandra Dulgheru at the 2011 US Open, becoming the first Grand Slam champion to lose in the first round of the following Grand Slam without winning a set.[20]

Kvitová's form improved at the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open, where she lost to Vera Zvonareva in the semifinals, thus reaching the world no. 5 ranking.

At the 2011 Generali Ladies Linz, she beat Rebecca Marino, Patricia Mayr-Achleitner, Daniela Hantuchova, Jelena Jankovic, and Dominika Cibulkova to collect her fifth title of the season.[12]

She won the 2011 WTA Tour Championships in Istanbul, becoming the third player to win the title in her first attempt.[21] During the round-robin matches, she beat Vera Zvonareva, Caroline Wozniacki, and Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets, putting her through to the semifinals. Her next opponent was Samantha Stosur, whom she beat, 5–7, 6–3, 6–3, to reach her first WTA Championships final, a match against Victoria Azarenka for the world no. 2 ranking, which Kvitová won, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3.[12] She concluded 2011 by helping the Czech Republic team win the Fed Cup and was named WTA Player of the Year and ITF Women's World Champion.[22]

[edit] 2012

At the beginning of 2012, Kvitová was widely expected to reach the world no. 1 ranking.[23][24] She stated that attaining the position "would be nice," but that her priority was to improve her game.[23] Kvitová opted not to defend her title and ranking points in Brisbane, choosing instead to participate in the Hopman Cup exhibition with Tomáš Berdych. The pair went on to win the title, defeating France in the final. She won all of her singles matches at the event, defeating Tsvetana Pironkova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Caroline Wozniacki, and Marion Bartoli.[25] Her next tournament was the 2012 Sydney International, where she lost in the semifinals against Li Na. At the 2012 Australian Open, Kvitová defeated Vera Dushevina, Carla Suarez Navarro, Maria Kirilenko, Ana Ivanović, and Sara Errani to advance to the semifinals, where she lost in three sets to Maria Sharapova.[25]

She continued her long run of wins in singles matches indoors (30 straight matches) with her two victories in Fed Cup against Germany in February 2012.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Grand Slam finals

[edit] Singles: 1 (1–0)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2011 Wimbledon Grass Russia Maria Sharapova 6–3, 6–4

[edit] Singles performance timeline

Kvitová in Moscow with the trophy for the Fed Cup winners, 2011
Tournament 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 SR W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A LQ 1R 2R QF SF 0 / 4 10–4
French Open A A 4R A 1R 4R 0 / 3 6–3
Wimbledon A A 1R 1R SF W 1 / 4 12–3
US Open A LQ 1R 4R 3R 1R 0 / 4 5–4
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 3–3 3–3 8–4 14–3 5–1 1 / 15 33–14

[edit] Awards

2010
2011

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "WTA Rankings". wtatennis.com. http://www.wtatennis.com/page/RankingsSingles/0,,12781~0~1~100,00.html. 
  2. ^ "Jiří Kvita si vychutnal atmosféru Wimbledonu". denik.cz. http://novojicinsky.denik.cz/ostatni_region/jiri-kvita-si-vychutnal-atmosferu-wimb20100712.html. Retrieved 4 July 2011. 
  3. ^ "Player Profile". wtatennis.com. http://www.wtatennis.com/player/petra-kvitova_2257889_13403. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  4. ^ Robson, Douglas (3 July 2011). "Kvitova looks like a grass-court natural in capturing Wimbledon". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2011-07-02-wimbledon-womens-final-kvitova_n.htm. Retrieved 3 July 2011. 
  5. ^ "Event Statistics; Aces; Ladies' Singles". All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/extrastats/aces_ws.html. Retrieved 3 July 2011. 
  6. ^ Mouratoglou, Patrick (3 July 2011). "Kvitova: the next big boss". Yahoo!. http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/patrick-mouratoglou/article/2211/. Retrieved 4 July 2011. 
  7. ^ Mitchell, Kevin (2 July 2011). "Petra Kvitova comes out of left field to shock Maria Sharapova". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jul/02/wimbledon-2011-petra-kvitova-maria-sharapova. Retrieved 12 December 2011. 
  8. ^ a b "Petra Kvitová 2008 Stats". ESPN  . http://espn.go.com/tennis/player/results/_/id/928/year/2008/petra-kvitova. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  9. ^ a b "Petra Kvitová 2009 Stats". tennis.com. http://tennis.com/players/player_stats.aspx?player_name=Petra+Kvitova. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  10. ^ a b "Petra Kvitová 2010 Stats". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/tennis/player/results/_/id/928/year/2010/petra-kvitova. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  11. ^ "Petra Kvitova beats Andrea Petkovic in Brisbane final". BBC Sport. 8 January 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/9350572.stm. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
  12. ^ a b c d "Petra Kvitová 2011 Stats". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=928&year=2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  13. ^ "World number one Clijsters beaten in Paris Open final". BBC Sport. 13 February 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/9396347.stm. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
  14. ^ "Russia and Czech Republic through to Fed Cup final". BBC Sport. 17 April 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/13104171.stm. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
  15. ^ "Petra Kvitova beats Victora Azarenka to win Madrid Open". BBC Sport. 8 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/13328766.stm. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
  16. ^ "French Open: Li Na beats Petra Kvitova to make quarters". BBC Sport. 30 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/13594423.stm. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
  17. ^ Newbery, Piers (2 July 2011). "Wimbledon 2011: Petra Kvitova beats Maria Sharapova to title". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/14002512.stm. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
  18. ^ Brennan, Christine (2 July 2011). "Petra Kvitova emerges as newest big hitter in women's tennis". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2011-07-02-wimbledon-womens-final_n.htm. Retrieved 3 July 2011. 
  19. ^ Murray, Scott (2 July 2011). "Maria Sharapova v Petra Kvitova – Wimbledon 2011 women's final as it happened". Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jul/02/maria-sharapova-petra-kvitova-wimbledon-live. Retrieved 4 July 2011. 
  20. ^ Rothenberg, Ben (29 August 2011). "In an Upset, Kvitova Loses to Dulgheru". The New York Times. http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/in-an-upset-kvitova-loses-to-dulgheru/. Retrieved 29 August 2011. 
  21. ^ "Kvitova Conquers Istanbul To Complete Dream Year". wtachampionships.com. http://www.wtachampionships.com/page/LatestNews/Read/0,,12910~2499801,00.html. Retrieved 15 January 2012. 
  22. ^ "Petra Kvitova awarded WTA player of year". USA Today. 14 November 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/story/2011-11-14/kvitova-wins-wta-player-of-year/51199672/1. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  23. ^ a b "Kvitova close to No. 1 but downplays talk". tennis.com. 2 January 2012. http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=15560&z%20cdth=25. Retrieved 6 January 2012. 
  24. ^ Berra, Lindsay (2 January 2012). "On her good side". ESPN The Magazine. http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/7393078/tennis-petra-kvitova-first-lefty-no-1-1996-espn-magazine. Retrieved 6 January 2012. 
  25. ^ a b "Petra Kvitová 2012 Stats". tennis.com. http://tennis.com/players/player_stats.aspx?player_name=Petra+Kvitova. Retrieved 6 January 2012. 

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
United States Melanie Oudin
WTA Newcomer of the Year
2010
Succeeded by
Romania Irina-Camelia Begu
Preceded by
Belgium Kim Clijsters
WTA Player of the Year
2011
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Italy Francesca Schiavone
WTA Most Improved Player
2011
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Russia Elena Dementieva
Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award
2011
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
First title
WTA Fan Favorite Breakthrough Player
2011
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Denmark Caroline Wozniacki
ITF World Champion
2011
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Martina Sáblíková
Czech Athlete of the Year
2011
Succeeded by
Incumbent
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