Petra Kvitova to lead Czech Republic in Fed Cup final

By Magdalena Stanislav

Petra Kvitova will have to recover early to lead Czechs in Fed Cup final

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (TheSportsNEXT) October 24, 2012: Despite of a viral illness, the world number six tennis player in WTA Rankings, Petra Kvitova has been chosen to lead Czech Republic in the Fed Cup final against Serbia.

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The announcement has come on the day when Petra Kvitova pulled out of WTA Championships in Istanbul citing viral illness and flew back home in a bid to get ready for the future assignments.

The Czech Republic squad for the Fed Cup final against a strong-looking Serbian team was named Wednesday by Captain Petr Pala and he decided to keep the same squad that defeated even-stronger Italy 4-1 in the semi-finals.

Petra Kvitova has not been in greatest of form off late and her notable victories came only last season when she won the Wimbledon and WTA Championships title but this year it’s been a topsy-turvy ride for the Czech tennis queen who has now slipped to sixth in the WTA Rankings.

Her latest performance was a horrific defeat to Agnieszka Radwanska last night when she committed whopping 41 unforced errors before bowing out by 6-3 6-2 as the viral illness never allowed her to concentrate on her game.

Her team’s spokesman Karel Tejkal told reporters here today that Petra Kvitova was flying home for further treatment and her teammates were expecting her to recover in time for the Fed Cup finals.

The Fed Cup 2012 best-of-five final will be played on November 3 and 4 on an indoor hard-court at Prague's O2 Arena.

Petra Kvitova has been joined by 17^th ranked Lucie Safarova as the second singles player in the squad while the doubles pair will be Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, who ended runners-up at this year’s US Open and London Olympics.

This would be the first time that Czech Republic and Serbia will meet in the Fed Cup. Thea last time Czech Republic made it into the Fed Cup finals was last year where they defeated Russia by 3-2 in Moscow. The defending champions have won the Fed Cup title only once since the country split in 1993. The Czechs won the Fed Cup title five more times when it was known as Czechoslovakia.

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Sick Petra Kvitova pulls out of WTA Championships

By Magdalena Stanislav

Petra Kvitova pulls out of WTA Championships title defense

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 24, 2012: The WTA Championships will certainly have a new winner crowned this year after defending champion Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic withdrew from the tournament citing a viral illness.

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Samantha Stosur of Australia will replace Petra Kvitova at the WTA Championships as the WTA gave no detail of the nature of illness to the defending champion.

Petra Kvitova, who is world number six in WTA Tour Rankings, got off to an embarrassing start to her title defense in Istanbul last night when Agnieszka Radwanska defeated her in straight sets by 6-3 6-2 as the Czech committed a whopping 41 unforced errors.

Later on her Twitter account, Petra Kvitova said, “I am on my way to the airport now to fly home and see my doctor. I am so sad to withdraw from the WTA Champs and to leave Istanbul.

I want to say sorry to the Turkish fans who supported me so much here. I just wasn't able to compete at 100 per cent and need to recover”, she added.

“Will keep fingers crossed for Fed Cup and let you know. Good luck to Sam, hope she can win some matches for me :)”, she stated on social networking website Twitter.

The WTA Championships comprises of the WTA Tour Rankings’ top eight women players and this year the Red Group has Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Serena Williams of United States, Angelique Kerber of Germany, and Li Na of China while the White Group has Maria Sharapova of Russia, Samantha Stosur of Australia, Sara Errani, and Agnieszka Radwanska.

Karel Tejkal  and Petra Kvitova on Day 1 of WTA Championships in Istanbul

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WTA Championships: Sharapova, Williams, Radwanska start with victories

By Magdalena Stanislav

Agnieszka Radwanska stuns defending champion Petra Kvitova at WTA Championships 2012

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 24, 2012: Maria Sharapova of Russia, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Serena Williams of United States won their first matches at the year-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul on Tuesday.

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Maria Sharapova defeated Sara Errani by 6-3 6-2 in what was a repeat of the French Open final, Agnieszka Radwanska battered struggling titleholder Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic by 6-3 6-2, whereas Serena Williams made short work of Angelique Kerber by 6-4 6-1.

Serena Williams, who won Wimbledon and US Open titles, is looking in great form but won’t be able to surge towards the WTA world number one ranking as she had to sit out of the tennis action for the best part of the season owing to injuries but another feather in crown would be just the perfect motivation for her.

It is important to mention here that Serena Williams, who has won 15 Grand Slam titles, has ended WTA season as world number one only twice in her career and those came in 2002 and 2009.

Serena has featured in the Istanbul WTA Championships six times and won the title here twice in 2001 and 2009. Since winning her second title in Istanbul, the American top tennis ace is featuring in this tournament for the first time.

The TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships 2012 features two eight players in the world and this year Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova, Sara Errani, and Li Na are participating in the event.

Maria Sharapova, Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova, and Agnieszka Radwanska are pooled in Whites Group while the other group has Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, and Li Na.

Playing in her first match since winning the US Open title, Serena Williams showed no signs of rustiness as she breezed to victory against Angelique Kerber. Talking to reporters after her victory, Serena Williams said, “Obviously, I would rather win majors. I've been No. 1 and I would love to be No. 1 again. I think maybe one day I will. We'll see. I just feel if I keep winning tournaments, majors, tournaments like this, and playing well and consistently, the ranking will come”.

Serena Williams may not have the chance to vie for the world number one spot but Maria Sharapova kept her in numbers game when she raced to 6-3 6-2 victory over Sara Errani in her first match of the competition.

Victoria Azarenka, who holds the top position in the WTA Tour Rankings, will feature in her first match at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships 2012 on Wednesday.

Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic, who won the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships title last year, got off to a disappointing start against Agnieszka Radwanska on Tuesday.

Petra Kvitova, who entered into this tournament on a 25-match winning streak indoors, looked far from her best and seemed nervous like a rookie as she lost her first three games before recovering to draw at 3-3. However, Radwanska broke her again and sealed the deal in the first set.

After losing the first set, Petra Kvitova looked even more drained out against a fitter and steadier Agnieszka Radwanska as the Czech fell to her first loss in four matches against Radwanska and overall her second loss in 28 indoor matches in the last two years.

Agnieszka Radwanska told reporters after her impressive inaugural day show, “I am just happy that I could play my best tennis today and close that match in two sets. It's a good start”.

Petra Kvitova, who had won the WTA Championships last year without losing a single match, told reporters, “I was nervous all match. I had a lot of errors”.

All is not lost for Petra Kvitova as the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships 2012 tournament has a round-robin format and she has two more matches to get her a place in the last-four.

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