WTA Championships Day 1: Serena, Azarenka and Kvitova begin their campaigns

(3)Agnieszka Radwanska v (5)Petra Kvitova (Head-to-head: Kvitova leads 4-1)

This mouthwatering contest should be labeled as the match of the day. Petra Kvitova left Istanbul two years ago on a high after reigning supreme having gone undefeated all week. But since her breakthrough 2011 it has been a trough in her career with a series of illness, injuries and mental frailty being her nemesis. At the beginning of 2012 she was poised to reign at the helm of the world rankings but since then it has been a downward spiral with her even tumbling out of the top 10 briefly this year. But she redeemed for all that in the fall during the Asian swing. The easy power with which the Czech bludgeons the ball was seen again, her touch at the net lit up the courts once again. Even though she couldn’t avert most of her matches going to three sets, most importantly she could show her will and find a way to win.

She takes the court today against the Polish No. 1 Agnieszka Radwanska and the Czech has a lot of things to set right. Last year she began her campaign against this very player and she lost haplessly before withdrawing because of a virus. Kvitova would surely want to obliterate those memories with a resounding win but the Pole has been having a solid year herself as well. Lacking in power, she makes up for it by her guile, disguise and touch which are so beautiful to watch. She is just one of the two players to have scored over 50 wins this season and has three titles.

Radwanska is certainly not one to bow out without a fight especially given Kvitova’s performance graph varies a lot during her matches. But the Czech has perhaps found the motivation once again on these indoor courts as she says, ‘’It’s true I’m looking forward to these matches. Now it’s time to show the best again.”

Prediction: Kvitova wins in three sets.