The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Kvitova returns as top
Petra Kvitova made an emotional and victorious return to tennis on the opening day of action at the French Open but world No 1 Angelique Kerber was knocked out.
Five months after suffering careerthreatening injuries when she was stabbed by an intruder in her home, Kvitova looked sharp and eager in a 6-3 6-2 triumph over Julia Boserup.
Her parents and two brothers were in the stands on Court Philippe Chatrier, with her team decked out in matching T-shirts saying ‘Courage, Belief, Pojd (‘Come on’ in Czech)’.
They gave loud support during the match, with the only disappointment the usual sparse early crowd on Roland Garros’ main court.
The 27-year-old, who suffered injuries to all the fingers on her dominant left hand, said on Friday she had won her biggest fight just by being able to play tennis again.
“I feel great, obviously,” she said after that match. “I won for the second time, if I can say.
“It was a nice and really heart-warming welcome on Chatrier. My team was there. My family was there. Everyone who helped me through the difficult time. So it was a real pleasure to play in front of them and play how I played.
“I think I played well after six months off. I’m happy with the game, of course, but it wasn’t really about the game today.
“I’m glad it’s still there, still in the mind, still in the hand.”
Being back on court was the main thing but the competitive juices soon kicked back in.
Kvitova took the first point with a forehand winner and swiftly moved into a 3-0 lead. Boserup, a 25-year-old American ranked 85, made it more competitive after that without ever threatening a comeback.
There were a few signs of Kvitova’s long absence – this was her first match since November 12 – but the good far outweighed the bad and she struck her signature forehand with familiar clout.
She showed the weight of the occasion only at the end, dropping her racket to the clay and turning to her support camp with hand over mouth in disbelief.
Kvitova first picked up a racket again in March, 12 weeks after the attack, and only began practising properly at the beginning of May.
She had originally targeted a return at Wimbledon, where she is a two-time champion, but made quicker progress that anyone had dared hope.
The hand is still not perfect but crucially for the 15th seed she remains pain free.
There was nothing positive for Kerber to take from her 6-2 6-2 loss to Ekaterina Makarova as she became the first top seed in the women’s draw to lose in the opening round at Roland Garros in the Open era.
The German, who also lost in round one last year, has had a miserable season and is not a fan of clay so the result came as no real surprise. Kerber won the Australian Open and US Open titles last year and also reached the final at Wimbledon.
She said: “Right now I think that I have to find to myself again and just try to forget the clay court season as soon as possible, and then reset and start from the grass courts again.”
Venus Williams, a title contender a month before her 37th birthday, survived a close match against China’s Wang Qiang. Wang was a break up in the second set but could not force a decider, with Williams winning 6-4 7-6 (7/3).