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Former champion Petra Kvitova opened her 2022 St. Petersburg Open campaign with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over German qualifier Jule Niemeier on Tuesday.
The Czech produced a confident display of attacking tennis, finishing the match with 30 winners and eight aces to post her second win of the 2022 season. Kvitova had managed just one win in tournaments in Sydney and Melbourne leading up to St. Petersburg, where she was given a wildcard.
During her post-match press conference, Kvitova reflected on her slow start to the season. The 31-year-old revealed that she had been playing with an injured wrist in Australia, which contributed to her poor results.
The southpaw went on to thank tournament organizers in St. Petersburg for the last-minute wildcard, saying she was hopeful of a better performance this week.
"I think the result just says it all, and I've been actually injured for a months as well," Kvitova revealed. "So I've been struggling with my wrist and I played in matches, but I didn't practice. So I mean in the end, it wasn't the best."
"But now I feel a little bit better," she continued. "So I hope you know, everything could be better, even the results. And, yeah, I'm here to enjoy it. I have to say, thank you to the tournament for the wildcard on the last point. It's a beautiful tournament, so I hope that everything will be working for me, better than in Australia."
Shifting focus to her vaccination status, Kvitova joked that the tournament organizers should be "proud" of her for getting a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before making the trip to Russia.
"I even have a booster [does of the Covid vaccine] before coming here, so you should be proud of me," Kvitova said. "I mean overall in Czech, it's like it's not really high, the number of vaccinated people, unfortunately. But the hospitals are a little bit better right now with Omicron."
"We still have big numbers unfortunately, but the hospitals are better than it was like in the previous time of Covid," she continued. "I would love to, you know, be normal again. Like with those masks and restrictions, it's not life as we've been used to. So I hope that one day it will be easier."
"I'm looking for another match here in St. Petersburg" - Petra Kvitova
Peta Kvitova could face Irina-Camelia Begu in the next round. The Czech has a 5-0 head-to-head advantage over the Romanian and defeated her en route to the title in 2018.
Kvitova joked that playing Begu in the second round again might work as a "lucky charm" for her this year.
"I played Begu here the year I won in the second round, so maybe if I play her it would be a lucky charm," Kvitova joked. "But anyway, I mean, it doesn't matter. I mean both are great tennis players and I'm looking for another match."
