"My father was a big fan of her, so I became kind of fan of her as well" - Petra Kvitova on growing up watching the legendary Martina Navratilova

Petra Kvitova did not grow up watching a lot of tennis on television as a child, but when she did, it was Martina Navratilova she tuned in for. With her father being a big fan of the former World No. 1, Kvitova had no choice but to become Navratilova's fan as well, having become used to enjoying her matches alongside him.

Speaking to the press after her 6-1, 7-5 win over Elizabeth Mandlik in the second round of the 2023 Indian Wells Open, Kvitova was asked if she was aware of her opponent's playstyle beforehand. When Kvitova answered in the negative, she was probed on whether she at least caught Mandlik's mother, four-time Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlikova, in action growing up.

The Czech answered in the negative once again, revealing that the only tennis player she remembered watching on TV was Navratilova in her hay days.

"Actually, unfortunately I don't. Yeah, I know it's pretty sad, but as a kid, I didn't really like to watch tennis in the TV, and if I had to watch something, it was a Martina Navratilova, because my father was a big fan of her," Kvitova said. "So I became kind of fan of her as well because I had to. But, yeah, unfortunately I did not see her playing."

Petra Kvitova went on to talk about the conditions in Indian Wells during her match, stating that she liked how it was a little bit cloudy towards the end.

The two-time Wimbledon champion also spoke about the balls used on site, revealing that they were becoming too heavy too soon. With the courts pretty slow as well, Kvitova admitted that she would need some time to get used to the conditions.

"I liked it. In the end I know it was a little bit cloudy, which is better than sunny from the one side. When you are serving it's a bit tough as well sometimes. But otherwise the conditions were pretty similar what we had in the days before when we practiced."

"The balls are getting dead pretty quickly when they are very new. They are flying. But then after few games, it's really heavy and not really flying anymore. It's a bit tougher even for my game, as well. The surface is pretty slow as well. It's not really suiting my game, but, I mean, it's every time here. I get to used to," Kvitova said.

Petra Kvitova takes on Jelena Ostapenko in third round of Indian Wells

Petra Kvitova at the BNP Paribas Open

Following her win over Elizabeth Mandlik, Petra Kvitova will lock horns with Jelena Ostapenko in the third round of the 2023 Indian Wells Open. The Latvian defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in the second round to book a meeting with Kvitova.

Speaking about how she expects her match against Ostapenko to go, the Czech joked that it was going to be a quick game with one or two shot rallies at the maximum. Having known Ostapenko well over the years, Kvitova hoped to have a good match against the former French Open champion.

"I think you can expect quick game, one, two shots max. I decide -- well, yeah, we played final of Eastbourne before I lost on the hard court from the match point against Jelena. We practiced few times as well. We know each other pretty well."

"Yeah, it will be quick game for sure. So doesn't matter really. I will not have a time to think where I'm going to put my ball. Any times I gonna feel it I will go there," Petra Kvitova said.