Finally Petra is squaring up. She was the biggest prospect for 2012 in the ladies tennis, but she didn’t make play as expected. Now she is back on track (a bit late… but back).
The final has been tough during both sets. In the first one Kirilenko managed to save two set points when she was 4-6 down in the tiebreak to then waste a set point when she was serving when leading 8-7. Eventually Petra won the breaker at 9.
“It was a difficult first set,” Kirilenko said. “We were both getting tired. I felt it. I think she felt it as well. We were a little bit run down.”
The second set wasn’t any easier. with the Czech managing to win it at the very end (7-5).”I just played, not thinking about the shots, about the tactics, just put the ball into the court,” Kvitova said. “Then it was 7-5. Surprise.”
“It’s unbelievable,” said an elated Kvitova “I mean, play three tournaments in a row and win two. It’s great for me. I hope it will continue in the US Open.”
This was an important breakthrough as last year Petra lost in the first round in New Haven “I feel more shots, good moving,” she said. “Maybe because I play lot of matches here, so maybe that’s why I’m feeling more like relaxed and confident on the court.”
Kirilenko was still satisfied by the overall situation “Even though I lost today, I still feel positive,” she said. “I played really well this week. I played good match today. Unfortunately, I was unlucky. But I have couple days to recover because I know that I’m playing Tuesday. So two days, it’s good for me to have rest.”
