Atherton’s Bellis advances at Bank of the West
Atherton teen overcomes shaky start to earn quarterfinal date with Kvitova
STANFORD » Atherton’s CiCi Bellis is back in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic after surviving what she described as a “roller- coaster” ride in the opening set of Thursday’s second-round match.
“I might have given my team a few heart attacks,” the 18-year- old said.
Certainly nothing as scary as what Petra Kvitova encountered during a home invasion in the Czech Republic back in December by a knife-wielding man who severely injured her racket hand.
“The recovery process was very tough and very long, and I didn’t know what to expect,” said Kvitova, who required surgery to repair tendons in all five fingers of her left hand, as well as two nerves. “Every day was critical and it was always a big risk to exercise with it. I’m glad that everything worked out well, that I can move all my fingers. It’s very important not only for life, but for tennis, as well.
“I’m glad that I can hold a racket and play tennis.”
Bellis recovered from a first- set lapse to beat Veronica Cepede Royg of Paraguay 7- 6 (3), 6-2 victory.
Kvitova, the No. 2 seed, needed exactly an hour to dispatch Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
It’s her first match since losing in the second round at Wimbledon, with this her fourth tournament since a return to the WTA tour after a six-month absence.
“It’s always tough to get from the grass to the hard court, especially ( because) I didn’t play a match for a month,” said Kvitova, 27, a two- time Wimbledon champion. “But I’m glad how I served today and everything kind of worked.”
Next up in Friday’s quarterfinals (not to start before 7 p.m.) is a first- ever meeting with Bellis, who is staying at home just a few minutes away and enjoying her mom’s cooking, as well as the support from fans at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
“I know that the crowd will be for her, but I can’t do anything against it,” said Kvitova, a former No. 2 player in the world. “I can just play a good game and hopefully the people will like the tennis.”
Last year, Bellis lost 6- 4, 6-1 to Venus Williams at the Bank of the West Classic, the first time she reached a WTA quarterfinal.
“I’m a lot less nervous than I was before when I was little bit younger playing people like that,” said Bellis, the youngest player ranked among the top 50 in the world.
Bellis was cruising early, up 5-1 with three break points at love- 40 to clinch the opening set. Suddenly, momentum shifted as Ce- pede Royg claimed 22 of the next 26 points to go up 6-5.
“Wow, I didn’t think it was that many points in a row,” said Bellis, the No. 8 seed, who forced a tiebreaker after denying a couple of break points with a swinging volley, then a slice drop shot with her backhand.
“I was hitting it a little bit shorter and she was taking advantage of most of the points,” Bellis added. “So I basically just told myself, ‘ Wow, you’re down a set point now. It’s time to really put it together and hit deep, hit with a lot of racquet-head speed and go for it, because there’s noth- ing to lose.’
“Even if I had lost that set, I was ready to come back and fight for the next one.”
After her serve was broken in the second set to fall behind 2-1, Bellis once again took command and closed out the match by winning five consecutive games.
“I think I took my foot off the gas pedal a little bit,” Bellis said. “But I’m really glad I pulled it together in the end.”
• Nicole Gibbs, a former NCAA champion at Stanford, lost to sixth- seeded CoCo Vandeweghe 6- 0, 6-2.