KVITOVA MAKES WINNING START

Petra Kvitova has defeated Polona Hercog of Slovenia in the opening round of the US Open at New York. Kvitova won the match in the straight sets by 7-6(6), 6-1. In the first set, the young Slovenian played very well and didn’t let Kvitova win her points easily. But, she didn’t manage to maintain her intensity in the second set. Kvitova demolished Hercog in the second set and cruised into the second round.

In the first 4 games of the first set, neither of the two players was able to sneak a breakthrough and the scores were levelled at 2-2 at the end of the fourth game. Hercog broke Kvitova’s service in the fifth game to take a lead of 3-2, but, she wasn’t able to maintain the lead for too long as Kvitova got a breakthrough in the very next game to level the score. Both the players held their service in the remaining games and the set went into the tie breaker. Hercog matched Kvitova shot by shot in the tie breaker as well. But, she lost a few points towards the end and Kvitova managed to grab the first set. In the second set, there was a considerable deterioration in Hercog’s performance. Kvitova broke Hercog’s service twice in the second set and took a profound lead of 5-1. It was very tough for Hercog to make a comeback in the match from that stage. Kvitova wrapped up the match by holding her service in the 7^th game of the second set.

This was the first match between these two players. On being asked about her opponent, Kvitova said that Hercog is extremely talented, but, she is a bit inexperienced. The more she will play, the better she will get. In the second round, Kvitova will play against Alize Cornet of France.