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Kvitova Takes New Sense Of Self Into Zhuhai Semifinals

Kvitova Takes New Sense Of Self Into Zhuhai Semifinals

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ZHUHAI, China – Asked what she would take with her from 2016, Petra Kvitova gave a sleepy smile.

“I would like to take myself,” she told WTA Insider after advancing into the semifinals of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

“I think, somehow, I found myself this season. Maybe being without a coach was important to help me do that.”

Kvitova kicked off her season by splitting with David Kotyza, her coach of seven years. She turned around a tough year at the Olympic tennis event, winning a Bronze medal that foreshadowed a fantastic fall swing.

“I have so many great memories of the Olympics, not only from tennis, but also from getting to meet new friends, athletes, and people in the Village and Czech House. They’ll stay forever in my heart, and it was great to be part of it.

“I played good in the second half of the season without a coach. I think that’s very interesting. I think I’m more relaxed right now and that’s how I’ll also try to be next season.”

The two-time Wimbledon winner does plan to take on a new coach before the end of the off-season, having parted with Frantisek Cermak following the US Open. For Kvitova, chemistry is key.

Petra Kvitova

“To be honest, it’s hasn’t been really easy,” she said of her search. “For me, personality is important. I’m probably a little bit of a different player; I just need someone who is relaxed, who knows how to have fun and has a similar sense of humor.

“He has to understand me, but he also has to be a good tennis coach. It’s really not easy to find someone like this, but I’m really looking hard. We’ll see; we still have a little bit of time. I need to find one soon!”

Kvitova is looking to form a bond much like the one she finds within the Czech Fed Cup team, which plays France in next week’s final.

“We’re not only good players, but also good people. We’re never fighting with each other; we act as a team, and I think that’s very important. None of us make trouble, and we all work well together.

“For example, if one of us needs to schedule a massage, we talk all talk and decide who gets to go first; it’s the same with practice schedules. Communication is very important for a team.”

The four-time Fed Cup champion went head-to-head with teammate Barbora Strycova – winning, 6-1, 6-4 – on Friday, and next plays Chinese No.1 Zhang Shuai for a spot in the Zhuhai final.

“It’s never easy to play someone like Barbora; she’s a great player, and playing a teammate is always extra difficult – especially when we’re playing together next week.

“I came to China with the goal of qualifying for Zhuhai. It has been a kind of funny season for me; after a not so great first half, I started to play well. Having this tournament is great; with the Fed Cup final next week, I was happy to qualify and play more matches before that.

“It will be a nice end of the season.”

All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy.

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Champions Corner: Rejuvenated Kvitova Revels In Zhuhai Triumph

Champions Corner: Rejuvenated Kvitova Revels In Zhuhai Triumph

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ZHUHAI, China – Petra Kvitova concluded a stellar Asian Swing with yet another title, taking home the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai crown after a 6-4, 6-2. The former World No.2 and Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open winner moved up to No.11 on the WTA rankings, and is eager to make up for lost ground at the start of next season.

WTA Insider caught up with Kvitova after her emphatic win over Svitolina to talk about the Wuhan-Zhuhai double, what it means to find herself on the tennis court, and why she’ll key in on improving her serve and return during the off-season.

WTA Insider: On a scale from 1-10, how tired are you feeling right now?
Kvitova: I don’t think I’m that tired. I just feel my entire body is sore, so I’ll need to take a few days off to get ready for the Fed Cup tie. I’m really looking forward, but it’s a little bit difficult. I’m a little bit tired, but winning always helps me recover faster.

WTA Insider: You managed to win Wuhan and Zhuhai this year, much like Venus Williams in 2015. What is it about these courts that go hand-in-hand for players?
Kvitova: I’m not really sure, but it’s kind of funny that both of us won the same tournaments at the end of the season. I’m not sure, but maybe the courts are a little bit faster for our games. We both play aggressive, and have good serves. I think that pays off for us.

Petra Kvitova

WTA Insider: You talked a lot about finding yourself in our last interview; I’m curious what that means to you. Is it about finding yourself personally, or professionally? You mentioned in press that you felt you’d rediscovered your game.
Kvitova: I think it’s both, personal and tennis things. I’ve always loved to play tennis, but it can get tough when I’m not feeling confident, and not playing as well as I should. These couple of matches that I’ve won in the last couple of weeks have really helped my confidence. I did find myself, and that means I’ve found my game again. I’m not afraid to go for my shots, even if I miss them sometimes. I’m still trying to go for it, serve better, and put pressure on my opponent. That’s something I don’t think I was really doing at the start of the season. Of course, there were other small things also happening in my life, as well. But sometimes it’s just important to go through all of these things to find yourself.

WTA Insider: You’ve also mentioned that potentially not having a coach helped you find yourself. What you’re trying to find yourself – be it your game, or personally – did it help to not have too many extra voices around, and just to focus on you and what you’re thinking and feeling?
Kvitova: Personally, I’m always trying to look at things more positively than negatively. I do have David, who is my fitness coach. He’s traveling a lot with me right now, and he’s helping a lot. He’s not a tennis coach, so I’m doing tactics and practicing by myself. It’s a little bit funny and it’s all a learning process for me. It’s nice to have this experience, and I’m just glad that I’ve had it. It’ll be good for the future for me to have had these sorts of things happen. Everything new can be good for you if you take it positively. Not having a tennis coach is a little bit tricky; I’m glad I played more matches so I didn’t really have to practice that much. That was helpful!

Petra Kvitova

WTA Insider: What does a Petra Kvitova practice session look like? If and when you do add a coach to your team, will you then expect to collaborate with him? Now that you’ve had this independence, how tough will it be to give it up?
Kvitova: I think everything is about compromise and communication. I hope that when I find a good coach, we’ll be able to sit and talk about how everything looks with my game and schedule. I’m not sure that I’ll tell him about this experience, for sure. I’m not really a person that needs to practice five hours a day. Of course, preparation is a different story, but at tournaments, I really need to focus on the game and have good energy for the matches. That’s one thing I’ve learned, and I hope it’ll work.

WTA Insider: Briefly going back to the final today, and having five straight wins over Svitolina coming into the match. What is it about her ball that makes you comfortable on the court, especially with all the improvements she’s made?
Kvitova: Those wins helped me with my confidence. In the last match, I was also a break down in the beginning of the match, and I was still able to turn it around. That helped me today when I was on the court, having that in mind. I can’t say she plays a comfortable game, but I just know I need to play aggressively. She likes to play aggressively too, so I just need to be the first one who is putting pressure on her and play what I can. Sometimes, it ends up being a longer rally than I’d like, but that’s the game. She’s doing what she has to do to beat me. She’s thinking as well, so fair enough. I think my serve helped me a lot and I need to return well, which I was doing pretty good today. In the rallies, she’s really going for it, so it’s just about the few points, and what turned the match on my side.

WTA Insider: You’ve talked about the serve a lot this week. When people think of you and your game, they think of the forehand, the power and precision behind that shot. How important do you feel focusing on the serve will be heading into 2017?
Kvitova: I think that’s the key point, for sure. The serve and return are the beginning of the rallies, and those are very important for putting pressure on your opponent right away. I need to improve my second serve next season. Of course, my forehand is a big one, but I need to work on that, as well. I still miss too many shots over there, but I think overall, it’s pretty good. The power is still the key for me to play well. I just need to keep it there.

Petra Kvitova

WTA Insider: Finally, you’re heading home tonight. Will you be flying home or straight to France ahead of the Fed Cup final?
Kvitova: I’ll be flying to Prague, and then taking a car to go to Strasbourg, so that’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to seeing the team. We have a great team, so I can’t wait to be with them over there. It’ll be the last week of the season, so it’s great to have it then, as well.

WTA Insider: One last ride with the Czech Fed Cup team?
Kvitova: Exactly!

Petra Kvitova

All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy.

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Siegemund Sets Up All-German Final

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

STUTTGART, Germany – The giant-slaying run continued for Germany’s Laura Siegemund; the qualifier took out World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 6-2, to reach her first career WTA final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

The qualifier won her seventh match of the week – and her 14th straight set since coming to Stuttgart – and had all the answers against the top seed, who lost five games in a row from a 3-1 advantage in the opening set.

“Maybe I’m a similar type like her to other players,” Siegemund said after the match. “I didn’t focus on beating her with her own weapon or anything like that. I was focussing on my game which has been working well the whole week and didn’t find the switch to play aggressive that well. I was playing a little bit short at the beginning which gave her a lot of options but managed to fix the problem and found my game, a little bit later than the other matches but I found it.”

Serving at a stunning 90% off her first serve, Siegemund played a near-perfect match against Radwanska, hitting 34 winners to just 17 unforced errors – racing past the Pole’s own stats of 13 winners and 15 unforced. Converting a double break lead on her fifth break point opportunity of the fifth game of the second set, all looked clear for Siegemund when Radwanska enjoyed a brief resurgence, breaking back and making the veteran fight for the finish line.

“I felt like I’m in the flow and I don’t need to think, I’m going to make the right decisions. Sometimes you feel you’re not in the flow and then it’s good to have a good strategy every single point. But today I stood up of the break and I knew I had to trust my intuition and it worked well. Sometimes you get up from the bench differently. It’s very individual in that situation. But I was very focussed, I was very calm. If it was 5-5, I had a plan as well. So, I felt good.”

In the midst of a breakthrough season that has already seen her reach the third round of the Australian Open and quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open, Siegemund dutifully broke serve one last time and served out her spot in the final after one hour and 23 minutes.

“My tennis was not good enough, that’s for sure today,” Radwanska told press after the match. “Well, I think with that kind of game she is playing, the first shot is very important. And she was playing pretty much all in and every time she got the ball I think she had nothing to lose, so she just took the risk.

“I can’t complain; I had a really good start of the year, a couple of good results as you said, a couple of semi-finals and so far so good. Well, I hope I can keep going that way.”

Siegemund defeated three Top 10 players this week – Simona Halep and Roberta Vinci in addition to Radwanska – and her stellar run could have major implications on the German Olympic team; tentatively up to a new career-high ranking just outside the Top 40, Siegemund has leapfrogged countrywomen Sabine Lisicki, Anna-Lena Friedsam, Julia Goerges, and Mona Barthel to become the No.4 German behind Angelique Kerber (who she plays in the Stuttgart final), Andrea Petkovic, and Annika Beck. Kerber and Siegemund will be meeting for the first time, but the reigning Australian Open champion will be keen to defend the title she won for the first time in 2015.

In doubles, co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza appear to have gotten their groove back; Santina had struggled through early exits in Indian Wells and Miami, but are back in their first final since winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Against Lisicki and Lucie Safarova, the reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions made a solid case for completing the Santina Slam at the French Open with a 6-4, 7-5 win in the semifinals.

No.2 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic won their first title of 2016 in Charleston, and got past former No.1 Kveta Peschke – who is playing her first tournament in over a year – and Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the second semifinal later on Saturday, 7-5, 5-7, 10-4. They will play Santina for a second straight title to bookend their Fed Cup heroics.

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