While the seeds have been dropping like flies, the defending champion, Petra Kvitova is sticking around in Madrid and is beginning to showcase some of her best form of the year. Kvitova will face an Australian Open rematch against Daria Gavrilova in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Wednesday.
Kvitova had an unsettled start to the year, picking up a stomach virus in her first tournament of the year in Shenzhen and then splitting with coach, David Kotyza after the Australian swing. The Czech player had a 2-6 W-L record through the first two months of the year. However since then, Kvitova has really picked up her form with a new coach, Frantisek Cermak, now in place. Since Indian Wells, Kvitova’s record for the year has improved to 11-9 and this includes two straight set wins in Madrid over Lara Arruabarrena (6-3 6-2) and Elena Vesnina (6-3 6-3).
The win over Vesnina, a first match-up against the Russian player, was a very solid showing against an in-form player. Vesnina has won 14 matches at her last three tournaments and is enjoying a supreme run on tour right now. It won’t be long until she’s back into the main draws of tournaments and i’m excited to see what she can do on the grass. In this match though, she went toe-to-toe with Kvitova a little too much and couldn’t find the right balance to unsettle the Czech player. Kvitova finished with 32 winners and 20 unforced errors, and didn’t drop serve once despite finishing with just 47% of first serves in.
There’s been a noticeable change from Kvitova to inject a little bit more variety into her game. I’ve always felt Kvitova had excellent technique on her volleys, but it seemed to me it was something she had shied away from in recent years. I’m actually seeing the benefits of her new coaching arrangement and I do think, looking back now, it was time for something different. She looks as fit as she has ever done on a tennis court and finally the results are starting to come. I say it ever year but… Petra’s going to win Wimbledon :-).
Gavrilova is coming back to some form after a ropey spell between the Australian Open and Miami. She suffered a 1-6 0-6 loss in Dubai to Ana Ivanovic (this literally feels like last year!) and lost matches in Indian Wells and Miami to Magdalena Rybarikova (6-2 5-7 4-6) and Zarina Diyas (5-7 3-6) respectively having failed to serve out sets in both matches. Gavrilova played much better in Charleston, gaining revenge on Diyas in the first round and then securing a surprisingly routine win over Shuai Zhang.
Gavrilova’s victory over Elina Svitolina in the second round of Madrid was her best win since the Australian Open. The Aussie had that spring in her step back, playing aggressively with superb intensity, and also unsettling Svitolina with flashes of variety. Most impressive was that she held her nerve serving at scoreboard pressure at *4-5 and *5-6 in the second set and looked confident in herself.
Head-to-head record: Kvitova and Gavrilova are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head; Kvitova won their match in Wuhan, 6-3 4-6 7-5, where Gavrilova had served for the win. The Aussie got her win at the Australian Open earlier this year, 6-4 6-4.
Final thoughts: Kvitova will be fully aware of the threat that Gavrilova poses having played two tough matches against the Aussie. Gavrilova’s intensity and ability to absorb pace and mix up her shots can make life difficult for Kvitova. The Czech player was perhaps still bothered by the virus in Melbourne so i’d expect a much improved performance in this encounter. I like how Kvitova is playing right now and the conditions are obviously ideal for her game. The danger is there, but i’d actually fancy P3tra to stay at home. I’m going for a straights sets victory…
Moo's Tennis Blog 
nice preview but i think gavrilova might take a set off from kvitova but still i think kvitova may win in the third. what are your thoughts about simona vs bacsinszky?
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That’s fair! Halep-Bacsinszky is a tricky one. When Bacsinszky gets on a roll, she’s pretty tough to stop. She looks very confident right now, but have to think all these matches will catch up with her at some point. Wonder if it will tomorrow, Halep seems to be playing better but I haven’t had the chance to watch either of her matches this week.
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Kvitova is too solid in Madrid – serves, volleys, groundstrokes – peak performance so far.
I watched Timea Bacs matches. I agree that all these matches will catch up to her in the end. Her usual strategy is to grind her opponents to death (i.e. very similar to Ferrer). Makarova should have won the match but she has found the way to lose as usual. I really don’t see Halep losing this one even Timea is fit and fresh.
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Kvitova really is superb at the net, one of the best in the game. I agree that it’s odd that it’s something she’s shied away from when it’s easily the most consistent part of her game. I feel like it’s the same with Serena. As an 18-21 year old she was so effective when coming into the net and when her power game developed she just seemed to be less and less interested in the move forward.
Speaking of Serena, I feel like her presence is really being missed right now. I hope she hasn’t lost her will to win. Or her confidence.
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I wasn’t sure if it was just me, I just recall when Petra was at number two in the world, she used to come forward a lot more. Her net points in the Niculescu match in Stuttgart were crazy although that had something to do with the opponent. She has said about trying to bring some more variety into her game. And yeah, I have actually missed Serena in this draw. IMO, it’s not been a great week for the WTA so far.
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Great preview 🙂 Really hope Petra will take her revenge from Melbourne and continue her great run! 🙂 I agree with you about her net game. I always thought she should come more often to the net and use more variations in her game. She has stopped to do it these past 2/3 years but if she does it again, it will be so tough to beat her 🙂 Anyway, POJD Petra!! 🙂
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Thanks, Jeffrey! I wasn’t sure if it was just me. I think her volleying technique is great and while I have seen her miss at the net in some matches, I think it’s a good tactic going forward.
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Yes, 100% agree! 🙂
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Petra’s dropshots and volleys, gotta agree. The forehand dropshot one she did against Serena last year, effortless and precise!
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please someone always remind me never ever ever ever put money Kvitova…Jesus Christ i cant stand her
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Betting on Kvitova when she’s the favourite? Sorry, that’s just cray cray.
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tell me bout it…she’s so not interested
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You can’t stand her because you made a mistake? Sure…
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no..because she so inconsistent its a joke…. she one of the most talented player in the world and some of her perfomance are just baffling
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But you were the one who put your money on her! To call her gutless is harsh, she was obviously missing a lot, but she never gave up. I think Petra’s played a lot better lately and I too thought she would win this match. With the nature of her game though, these types of matches are inevitable on an ‘off’ day.
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she can be such a gutless athlete at times, just not interested..weak
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