Categories
Tennis

Winning and Woes at Wimbledon

Wimbledon 2023 is at the quarter finals stage and sadly all my faves are out. Petra Kvitova had a good run to thr 4th round but was heavily beaten 6-0, 6-3 by last years finalist, Ons Jabeur. I missed the first set – probably for the best – and while Petra put up more of a fight, Ons had the answer to all Petra’s shots and Petra just could not get the ball away for winners. The huge shock in the stats was she only had 4, yes FOUR, winners in the whole match. Petra averages 20-30 usually and it was a further sign of the fact she wasn’t in this match. While Ons played really nicely with variety and power, it was a massively disappointing performance from Petra. However, looking in the bright side, she had her best run at Wimbledon since 2019 a d rises to number 8 in the rankings.

In better news, Katerina Siniakova had a great win at the WTA250 in Bad Homburg, Germany. She made the final here 2 years ago and played some terrific tennis, especially in a rain interrupted win over hard hitting Ludmilla Samsonova.

Categories
Tennis

Grass, Glorious Grass!

After the disappointment of all of my favourite players flopping at Roland Garros, the grass season has been so much better!

Petra Kvitova is a title winner again! She took the WTA 500 tournament trophy in Berlin, beating Donna Vekic in the final in straight sets. Indeed, Petra did not drop a set all week. The tournament was hit with rain forcing Petra (and Donna) to play two matches on Saturday and then the final on Sunday, but in many ways it was her challenging round 1 match against fellow Czech, Karolina Pliskova that set the tone. Petra looked so much happier to be back on grass than the struggles of clay. Great wins over Garcia and Alexandrova and Vekic, all players who love grass too. Terrific ball striking – watch out for the winner on match point in the final!

Categories
Tennis

Rolled Over at Roland Garros!

So Roland Garros 2023 has been a total disaster for my favourites! Petra Kvitova, Barbora Krejcikova, Katerina Siniaková and the doubles team of Krejcikova and Siniaková all lost in the first round! These losses were all not totally unexpected but still pretty disappointing.

Petra Kvitova hasn’t won a match since the Miracle in Miami ™. One loss to Jule Neimeir in Madrid and a leg injury has kept her off the court since. Petra is not a fan of the clay and the plucky Elizabeth Cocciaretto was a deserved winner over a rusty looking Petra. Fingers crossed the grass brings more success.

Categories
Tennis

And you may ask yourself.. how did Petra get there?


The victory at Miami open in 2023, for Petra Kvitova, was a truly a great achievement.  Her biggest title in 5 years and an historic 30th career title and 9th 1000 level trophy. For many people, this one came as a big surprise so how did Petra manage to win?

Firstly, this was not completely out of the blue. Petra had had some good wins in 2023 including wins over Jess Pegula and Rybakina and a run to the quarter-finals in Indian Wells. And despite the fact she’s never been a fan of humid conditions, she has had some good results in Miami in the past. She made the quarter-finals last year and had a decent run the year before as well. So this did not come out of nowhere. Petra has been playing decent tennis but just had not gone that deep in tournaments so far this year. Plus, this is Petra we are talking about! Someone with possibly the highest peak – apart from Serena – of recent times.

Categories
Tennis

Magnificent Miami!


What a week in Miami, and what a week to be a Petra Kvitova fan! Yes, Petra did it. She won the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, a 30th career title and the win puts her back into the WTA top 10. In the final on 1st April, Petra beat favourite Elena Rybakina, who was going for the Sunshine Double after taking the title in Indian Wells a few weeks back. Rybakina was the heavy favourite after having a great start to the 2023 season, but this was no April Fools Day trick, Petra Kvitova really won her 9th WTA1000 level title, the biggest win since the Madrid 1000 in 2018.

Categories
Tennis

What a Difference a Day Makes…


The WTA1000 event at Indian Wells is sometimes known as the fifth Grand Slam. At least that’s what Indian Wells would like to be, however one difference is that players do not get a day off in between every match. And what a two days it has been for Petra Kvitova. In my previous post, I talked about Krejcikova losing to Sabalenka and Petra Kvitova due to play Jessica Pegula later that day. Pegula is the world number three and has been playing probably about the most consistent tennis in the last 12 months, bar Iga Świątek. 

Having come through the rollercoaster match with Jelena Ostapenko, Petra was back on court on Tuesday to play Jessica Pegula in the fourth round.

Categories
Tennis

Everything Everywhere All At Once!

On Oscar night in Hollywood and the third round at Indian Wells, it really was a case of Everything Everywhere All At Once! My nightmare came true and Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova‘s matches happened at exactly the same time. For me, this was actually a test of who is my real favourite as it was Petra‘s match I ended up watching more closely as I double screened on my tv and iPad. It was partly because what a crazy, crazy crazy match the Kvitova Ostapenko match was. 

Categories
Tennis

I’m torn..!


Such a weird match today in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free classic. My two favourite players, Petra Kvitova and Barbara Krejcikova played against each other, and I honestly did not know who I was cheering for! 

Okay, not quite true. I will always cheer for Petra, no matter what. However, this match ended in a convincing win for Krejcikova and I could not be totally unhappy. Yes that sounds weird. When Petra loses I’m usually very sad. However Krejcikova played really well. Very controlled calm performance with Barbora’s forehand working really really well. She served well, returned well, moved well, defended well. As a Krejcikova fan for 2 years now, this was the first time I’ve watched and not really wanted her to win, but having said that, I did really like that she played so well.

Categories
Tennis

New Year, New Slam Champ!

Sabalenka- Australian Open champion 2023
Aryna Sabalenka – Champion in Melbourne


It’s the end of January 2023, and after one month of the new season plenty has happened.

The Australian Open 2023 was very entertaining and ended with a great win for Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka has been a top-10 player for five years but has always fallen short in Grand Slams. It took several years for her to make a second week, but she has made a few semifinals, but stumbled at that stage. Notably, the 2021 US Open where she allowed Layla Fernandez back into the match and even the 2022 US Open saw her lead Swiatek by a set but lose. However, she began the 2023 season really well. She took the title in Adelaide and went through to the Australian Open final without dropping a set. 

Her opponent in the final was the Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina, who has been a players I’ve admired for a while. Rybakina backed up her Wimbledon win very very well with a fantastic run to the final. A run that included a very convincing win over the world number one Iga Świątek. 

Categories
Tennis

Highs and Lows

As 2022 draws to a close, here are my highlights and low moments for my favourite players. 

Petra Kvitova 

High – Eastbourne title.

Low – Australian Open R1 loss to Cirstea 

Kvitova, Eastbourne champion 2022