Slow-starting Kvitova moves into second round
Slow-starting Kvitova moves into second round
Whether it was the swathes of empty seats to greet her
arrival or her sluggish movement and frequently misdirected
groundstrokes, there was little in Petra Kvitova's first round victory
to suggest she was the defending Wimbledon champion.
In contrast to number one seed Maria Sharapova, who
treated a packed Centre Court to a regal display on Monday, the Czech
showed little superstar quality as she nervously moved into the second
round with a 6-4 6-4 win over Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova.
It is 12 months since the number four seed upset
Sharapova to claim the title, but she looked ill-at-ease in the role of
champion as she strolled out on Tuesday to begin her title defence.
It ended happily with the Czech saluting Centre Court
with a smile and a wave, but it began in a flurry of unforced errors.
"I was nervous," she said during a rather swift press conference that extended to just three questions.
"It was first time for me to be as the defending
champion of the grand slam. It was huge honour to come to the Centre
Court.
"Of course I would like to make everyone happy, but it's not that easy."
She looked less than happy in the opening games as she
was broken early by the world number 96 and was twice just one point
away from falling a double break behind.
There was a hint of ruthless arrogance in the way
Sharapova dispatched Anastasia Rodionova, but Kvitova was edgy and
almost diffident.
Her movement was poor and the mistakes were
multiplying, but her superior power meant an upset never felt likely
providing she could find her range.
At 4-1 down in the first set she finally started to put
it all together and she won five games in a row to win the opening set
and the second was more straightforward.
A rain delay threatened to cause the first appearance
of the Wimbledon roof, but the giant mechanical structure was held back
as the swift shower passed and Kvitova returned to court to finish off
her opponent.
"It was lot of firsts for me today but I'm happy that I
stayed calm inside and not to be panic in the important points," she
said.
Next up for Kvitova is a second round clash against Britain's Elena Baltacha or Italy's Karin Knapp.
