Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova says it’s tough to win a single point against Iga Swiatek and underlined that the Pole deserves to be where she is now.
Swiatek, 21, has won seven titles in 2022, including two Grand Slams, and she has been the top-ranked player since early April.
Swiatek has undoubtedly been the most dominant player this year as there was a period between February and July during which she won 37 consecutive matches.
“Iga has had an amazing season, won two Grand Slams, and became number one in the world. Definitely deserved. You probably don’t see it on TV, but she’s very fast, reads the game very well, knows how to position herself properly for each ball. In addition, she is very good in defense, which makes it simply difficult to win a single point or a game against her,” Kvitova told iSport.
Kvitova, Swiatek competing this week in Ostrava
Kvitova is a home player in Ostrava, but Swiatek will also have a good number of fans on her side as Poland is near Ostrava.
“I hope Czech fans will be better than Polish fans! We could have some rivalry here. I think that many fans from Poland will come, for them Ostrava is actually just around the corner. It will definitely be good for the whole tournament,” Kvitova added. “There’s a bit of flu and colds and stuff going around now, but it’s not as bad as covid was. So I hope it gets better. I hope people will come. They really like tennis in Ostrava and in the Moravian-Silesian region, so I hope it will be seen.”
Both Kvitova and Swiatek made the Ostrava semifinal last year.
Kvitova suffered a defeat to Anett Kontaveit in the Ostrava semifinal, while Swiatek was beaten by Maria Sakkari.
It remains to be seen how far can Kvitova and Swiatek go in Ostrava this week.