Kvitova looking to banish memories of 2011 US Open

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  • Seeking improvement: Kvitova doesn’t want a repeat of 2011 when she crashed out of the first round of the US Open after winning the Wimbledon title.

    Petra Kvitova hopes to take her grass court form into the North American hard court season and erase her painful memories from the US Open that followed her first Wimbledon success in 2011.

    The Czech went to New York three years ago as the No5 seed and lost in the opening round to world No48, Alexandra Dulgheru.

    The US Open is the only major where Kvitova has yet to reach the quarter-finals and the 24-year-old is hoping she can change that this summer.

    When asked whether she remembers what happened at the US Open three years ago, she covers her face. 

    “Unfortunately I do. I was the fifth seed, but in the first round it was bye-bye,” she said. “I wasn’t there for long so I hope that this year I can do a little bit better.

    “After 2011 it was so tough for me to get used to everything. I was quite young and the pressure was too much. I really put pressure on myself, it wasn’t about the people and the opponents but wanted too much.

    “Everybody thought I was going to win everything – it’s just impossible.

    “Now I know how to deal with the pressure and how I still need to work on everything – the tennis, the fitness and the mental side as well. I hope the US Open will be not too bad.”

    Considering she started the year with a first round loss to the unheralded Luksika Kumkhum at the Australian Open, Kvitova has certainly pulled off quite a turnaround.

    She fell ill after that and had to miss the indoor tournament in Paris, crashed out of the first round in Dubai – where she was the defending champion – and had off-court problems as well, splitting up with her boyfriend Radek Stepanek.

    She believes all her struggles have eventually led her to her second Wimbledon title.

    “It was very disappointing (my loss in Australia) and it got me down,” she reflects. “It took me some time to get back and I was still working hard but not really with happiness inside.

    “I was trying and trying to fight that but it wasn’teasy.

    “There were are a lot of changes on the court and off the court. I played quite well in Roland Garros even though I lost in the third round, but Svetlana (Kuznetsova) played good tennis and it was a big fight.

     “Maybe I needed to lose that match to win this grand slam, so everything happens for a reason.”

    One of the things she is most proud of is how she was able to rein in her power yet was able to hit winners from every corner of the court against Eugenie Bouchard in the final.

    She says controlling her power game remains a learning process but taking calculated risks paid off this fortnight.

    Asked how she’ll celebrate her second grand slam title, Kvitova said: “I did nothing when I won in 2011, so I hope I can improve on that this time.

    “I think that we definitely need to celebrate.”

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