By Chris Oddo Photo Credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
With her long, braided ponytail whipping through the air, Petra Kvitova comes to rest on the balls of her feet after striking a serve, awaiting a return from her opponent that doesn’t always come, ready to swat the next ball into oblivion if it does. Kvitova, a raw and imposing talent, has a loud game that contrasts her shy demeanor off the court. On the outside she seems unsure of herself, unaware of her majestic powers. On the inside, she is a far cry from the women she was two years ago.
Then she was a lanky up-and-comer, powerful but erratic, gifted but unproven. Now she is a bonafide ringer, a Wimbledon champion, an electrifying presence in the women’s game.
But the transformation from the former to the latter isn’t quite complete. That much was evident yesterday when Kvitova lost a tense battle of nerves and wits with one of the most dogged competitors on the women’s tour, Maria Sharapova. It was a match that the 21-year-old could have won, had she made the most of her ample opportunities to break Sharapova in the third set.
That she didn’t will perhaps provide her with the impetus to strengthen her game even further.
That which does not kill us only makes us stronger, after all.
“Yes, of course I'm disappointed right now,” said Kvitova after the grueling 2-6, 6-3, 4-6 loss. “I mean, if I look back, I don't know, in [a] week, for example, it will be good tournament for me, first semifinal in the Australian Open.”
Having been the subject of so much No. 1 talk throughout the tournament, Kvitova missed a chance to play a high-stakes final against Victoria Azarenka for the top spot when she failed to hold serve in the last game of the match. It was a game where her nerves clearly got the best of her, and a match where Kvitova was once again plagued by her inability to avoid prolonged bouts of inconsistency.
In spite of it all, the Czech was in position to win the match – until the final game. “You know, she had so many opportunities in that third set, and I just hung on and just really went for it,” said a relieved Sharapova after the match.
For now, the talk of Kvitova becoming No. 1 will have to cease. The notion that she’s ready to ascend the ranks and become a Navratilova-like presence in the sport will also have to wait. Though she has the potential to dominate, perhaps more than any other rising WTA player, she’s clearly not ready to be the type of wrecking machine that Navratilova was – yet.
But even Martina, the legend and 18-time Grand Slam singles champion herself, entertains the notion of Kvitova becoming a truly dominant force. “Usually players, it's just maybe the backhand or the forehand, but she can do it on both sides,” says Martina of Kvitova. Navratilova has been in Kvitova’s corner for quite some time, so the shining commentary comes as no surprise. “Great serving and she mixes it up well,” she adds. “And her attitude is fantastic. I'm glad I'm not the one on the other side of the net.”
That is a sentiment that many if not all the women on the WTA tour share. “She's great young player,” said former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic after a straight-set fourth-round loss to Kvitova in Australia. “Being a lefty, I think it's great advantage, because we don't face so many players playing left-hand, and obviously ball spins differently. She should just keep doing what she's doing.”
Tennis has always been thought of as a metaphor for life, and in life, it’s not about what happens to you, it’s about how you react to what happens to you. It remains to be seen how Kvitova will react to her disappointing loss in Australia, but what is clear is that if she reacts positively, more Grand Slam titles and the No. 1 ranking are within reach.
Navratilova agrees. “With the absence of Serena playing enough, we need some superstars that you really feel like they're holding their own,” she says. “I think Petra has that possibility.”