Petra Kvitova made a winning return to Tennis with a straight sets victory against America’s Julia Boserup in the first round of the French Open.
The two time Wimbledon Champion was playing her first match since being stabbed during a burglary five months ago, and for a time, it looked like she may never play tennis again. But the recovery went better than expected, and Kvitova was able to return to tour in time for the second Grand Slam of the year.
It was an emotional day for the 15th seed as she performed better than expected to defeat Boserup 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and 13 minutes.
A quick start set the tone for Kvitova. The adrenaline of stepping onto a big court in her return to tennis was pumping, and she quickly broke to establish a 3-0 lead. Boserup was forced to save break points in the following game before creating some chances on the Kvitova serve. The 15th seed was able to keep strong and hold her serve despite the pressure from the American. Kvitova looked like she was going to serve out the set quickly, but a double fault and two Boserup winners later, the score went from 40-0 to deuce. Some big serves in key moments helped the Czech across the line as she went on to take the first set 6-3.
Kvitova was soon getting her game going and broke to love in the first game of the set. The rain then arrived at Roland Garros, forcing a stop in play. The slight delay did not hault her momentum however, and the Czech was able to break again at 4-2 to close in on victory. Kvitova would go on to successfully serve the match out to cap off an emotional return to the sport.
It was an excellent performance from the 15th seed, much better than anyone would have expected. She hit over 30 winners and looked like she had not missed a beat during her time away from the sport. It has been a long and difficult recovery for Kvitova, and it looks like it will pay off if today’s performance is anything to go by.
She will go on to face the winner of Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs Evgeniya Rodina in the second round, and there is no reason to believe she can not win that match too. But for now, Kvitova will enjoy her first win of the season.
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