It was "amazing" to watch Petra Kvitova beat Maria Sharapova in Wimbledon final, says Jiri Lehecka

Petra Kvitova has come a long way in her career since stunning Maria Sharapova in the Wimbledon final as a 21-year-old way back in 2011.

The southpaw, in fact, is busy fitting into the leadership role for a young Czech team — comprising Jiri Lehecka, Tomas Machac, Marie Bouzkova, Dalibor Syvrcina and Jesika Maleckova — at the inaugural edition of the United Cup.

The most experienced player in her side by far, Kvitova left some of her teammates star-struck at first. Speaking to the media after the Czech team's solid win over Germany, Lehecka pointed out how it was "pretty funny" that he was sitting next to someone that he watched on television growing up.

The youngster also recalled watching Kvitova beat Maria Sharapova in the final at SW19 in 2011, dubbing it an "amazing" match.

“I remember watching Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final in 2011 when she beat Maria Sharapova. It was amazing,” Lehecka said. “I was 10 years old at that time, so it is pretty funny and cool I am now here with her."

"We laughed about that earlier this week. Her career has been tremendous and she is such a good player,” he added.

Also by her teammate's own admission, the two-time Wimbledon champion has fit into the leadership quite naturally. He revealed that Kvitova often shares her own experiences with them, offering insightful observations and bringing a "good mood" to the locker room.

“She is a Grand Slam champion which speaks for itself. She is perfect and trying to help us,” Lehecka said. “She is speaking about her own experiences, which she gained through her own career. She is really relaxed and always brings a good mood to the locker room."

“Just to listen to her speaking about the match when she is watching is really interesting," he continued. "She has a different point of view than other coaches. She has been through everything, now she is sitting with you at the bench, gives you good tips."

"It's great vibes" - Petra Kvitova on spending time with Jiri Lehecka, Tomas Machac & others

Petra Kvitova hugging Jiri Lehecka after her win at the 2023 United Cup.

Returning the compliment, Kvitova remarked that she received "great vibes" from her teammates, who she admitted reminded her of her own younger self.

Kvitova further added that she could easily relate to the fire and passion the young members of her team had to get better and climb up the rankings, as it was something she wanted to do badly as well during her early years on tour.

"It's great vibes,” Petra Kvitova said. “The boys are really trying to go up and it's great. It's desire, they have the fire inside, they really want it."

"I'm at the point of my career where I still want it, but of course when I was younger and I was going up it's a different story than now." she continued. "It's nice. It reminds me of when I was young and I had a lower ranking and trying to go up"