By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday June 23, 2022
Grass season started inauspiciously for Petra Kvitova, the Czech falling to eventual champion Beatriz Haddad Maia in her first match at Birmingham, 7-6(4), 6-2.
But since then the two-time Wimbledon champion has rounded into form. On Thursday the 32-year-old World No.31 was conjuring memories of grass seasons past with a thorough put-down of Great Britain’s Harriet Dart, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the semifinals at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne.
A first semifinal of 2022 comes at the right time, with Kvitova hoping to make a splash at her favorite Slam.
If today’s form was any indication, Kvitova could be ready to make a push at SW19.
She saved the only break point she faced, won 10 of 15 second serve points and 14 of 26 second serve return points to keep Dart at bay from start to finish. It has been a solid season on grass for the British World No.103 (quarterfinal at Nottingham, round of 16 at Birmingham, quarterfinal in Eastbourne), but she couldn’t match pace and power with the Czech, who improves to 61-21 lifetime on grass.
Kvitova, a runner-up at Eastbourne in 2011, is into her 8th career grass-court semifinal. The No.14 seed earns a rematch with Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia [15], who advanced via walkover when Lesia Tsurenko pulled out due to injury.
The Czech legend, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, is just 13-13 on the season.
Haddad Maia has been a revelation this summer, winning titles at Nottingham and Birmingham as she has stretched her career-best winning streak to 12.
The other semifinal will feature defending champion and No.8 seed Jelena Ostapenko and 12th-seeded Camila Giorgi. Ostapenko eased past Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-2, while Giorgi pummeled Viktoriya Tomova, 6-2, 6-1.