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NEW YORK, NY, USA – Andrea Petkovic created an incredible surprise by beating No. 6 seed Petra Kvitova in the second round of the US Open, 6-4, 6-4 in 97 minutes.
The German player had a tight start to the match with just one break in her last match, as she showed her mental strength to overcome a deficit in the second half.
The WTA World No.88 had only won eight main draws all season before arriving in New York, but it was able to take advantage of the cold climate of Kvitova. The Czech fought in the left forearm for much of the summer.
Petkovic revealed that his psychology throughout the match was essential to help him better manage the pitches in his form than his opponent was able to.
"In the past two weeks, my mental state has been really good," she said. "I tried to stay in the moment and play point by point, enjoy the time I spent on this beautiful field and it really worked for me, so I'm happy. There were ups and downs throughout the match, but I was in the most important moments.
"I feel so happy, I think Petra is one of my favorite players and part of the Tour, it's always so difficult when I play against her and I'm so happy."
There was little to be decided between the two players in an opening set that had only three break points, the last of which was decisive in favor of Petkovic.
She had played with a lot of intelligence up to that point, showing why she and Kvitova were tied for their 10 career fixtures before the Big Apple vs Big Apple matchup. The usual efficiency of the Czech Republic in the service was disrupted by the aggressive return of Petkovic: 79% of his returns have found the field in a set where it has never been played.
Knowing that, in the long history of the pair, the winner of the first set has always won the match, she would have liked a similar path in the second.
However, the win came after a winding course that initially seemed to be a double for the Wimbledon champion. Kvitova sealed an early break after an exciting exchange and produced a series of good winners to build a 3-1 lead, though a succession of missed opportunities in a fifth game played, during which Petkovic served three double faults, would come back to haunt her.
After being beaten against a possible 4-1 loss, a series of long games followed, during which both players initially struggled to control their strikes.
Kvitova's match, however, stopped at the end of the race, allowing his opponent to come back on a par. She briefly threatened a rebirth, but with the length of the matches and the nervous tension in the construction of both players, it is finally Petkovic who triumphed.
Match Point summed up the determination of the 31-year-old athlete, jostling himself around the bottom line to recover everything his opponent could throw at him and dominating, Kvitova advancing to the net, unable to control a volley above the head.
"It was a crazy point match!" Enthused the winner as a result.
Petkovic's reward for his third Top 10 victory since 2016 will be a third round matchup with seed No. 25 Elise Mertens or Kristyna Pliskova.
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