Kvitova has advantage for decider
Put Petra Kvitova in a final and chances are she’ll win it.
Ahead of her Australian Open final against Japan’s Naomi Osaka tonight, the two-time Wimbledon champion boasts an enviable record in title deciders.
Dating back to before the knife attack in late 2016 which threatened her career, the Czech world No 6 has played eight finals, and each time she’s won.
Osaka will be gunning for back-to-back grand slam titles, after winning the US Open last year, but Kvitova is hoping her own big-game experience stands up on Rod Laver Arena.
As well as the Australian Open crown, the winner will take over the world No 1 ranking from Simona Halep.
‘‘I think it feels better to know this, that I do have better percentage of winning than losing in the final,’’ the 28-year-old said.
‘‘Every final is different, because every time is just different opponent or different place or time, but I really love playing finals.
‘‘I love playing on the big stages, and this will be one of them.’’
Kvitova’s career looked to be over when she was attacked by a burglar in her home and her finger was almost severed. She also suffered nerve damage, with her hand unlikely to ever fully recover.
But Kvitova has controlled what she can, and said her fitness level since her return to tennis had given her confidence of going the distance at Melbourne Park.
‘‘I’m able to be there and run and fight whatever is happening. Definitely everything is together. It’s very connected, and I’m happy for that.‘‘
Osaka never made it past the fourth round at any of the first 10 Grand Slam tournaments of her career. Now, still just 21, she’s suddenly on the verge of a second consecutive major championship – and the No 1 ranking, too.
She moved one victory away from adding the Australian Open trophy to the one she collected 41⁄2 months ago at the US Open, using her smooth power to produce 15 aces and groundstroke winners at will while beating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinals on Thursday.
‘‘I just told myself to regroup in the third set and just try as hard as I can,’’ said Osaka, who saved four break points in the last set and finished the match with an ace at 185kmh.
A day after erasing four match points and a 5-1 deficit in the third set to stun Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, Pliskova could not produce the same kind of comeback.
Osaka’s fourth-round finish at Melbourne Park a year ago was her best showing at a major until last year’s US Open, where she outplayed Williams in the final.
A victory over Kvitova would make Osaka the first woman to win two grand slams in a row since Williams claimed four straight across the 2014-15 seasons.
Back at her best, Kvitova surged to a 7-6 (2), 6-0 victory against 35th-ranked American Danielle Collins after Rod Laver Arena’s retractable roof was closed as the temperature soared toward 40 degrees C. She reached her first major final since the December 2016 knife attack that led to hours of surgery on the hand she holds her racket with – and her first since winning Wimbledon for the second time in 2014.