Kvitova keeps fairy tale alive
IN this year of tennis comebacks they hardly come more poignant than that of Petra Kvitova, who now finds herself within three wins of an unlikely US Open title. Tonight she faces Venus Williams in the quarter-final, less than nine months after an intruder attacked her with a knife in her apartment. The winner of this match will provide the sentimental favourite for the title. After contending with Sjogren’s Syndrome the 37-year-old Williams trying to win at Flushing Meadows 16 years after her last triumph here. The American said of Kvitova: ‘What she’s gone through is unimaginable, unreasonable. The world we live in is just shocking. For her, I think to be playing well is such a blessing. ‘To be able to come out here and do what she needs to do, to clear her head, it’s such a beautiful thing to see.’ Kvitova, who suffered damage to the ligaments in her racketholding left hand in the assault, is twice a Wimbledon champion, and made it through with the upset of her latest successor at SW19, Garbine Muguruza, 7-6, 6-3. With the notable exception of winning the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, Kvitova’s results have been modest since her return. In nine appearances at the US Open she has never made it beyond the last eight. ‘I didn’t ever have any expectation to play well here,’ said the Czech. ‘That’s why probably I am playing more relaxed and more free.’