Far From Home So

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Admin
Far From Home So

Far From Home So

We are six weeks into the new ATP and WTA seasons and several young guns have already made their marks, stringing together impressive runs of results and several big wins. But who are these players and what makes them special?

Petra Kvitova (Nationality: Czech; Age: 20; Ranking: 18)

Petra Kvitova first made her breakthrough last summer, when, ranked 62, she made the semi-finals of Wimbledon, defeating the likes of Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki on the way. What made her performances on the lawns on SW19 more impressive was the way she dominated her opponents with her big serve and forehand combination. Unfortunately, she couldn’t rediscover that form during the rest of the season, compiling a disappointing 5-10 win-loss record on the main tour post-Wimbledon.

While the end of last season was somewhat of a disappointment, the beginning of this season has been anything but. Kvitova has been on fire; compiling a stunning 16-1 win-loss record (second only to Kim Clijsters). She started her season in Brisbane, where she defeated Nadia Petrova, Dominika Cibulkova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on the way to her second WTA title. She then headed to the Australian Open, where she bludgeoned home favourite and sixth seed Sam Stosur into submission on the way to the quarter finals. This string of results saw her make her WTA top 20 debut on January 31. She has since gone on to lead the Czech Repbulic to the Fed Cup World Group semi-final after winning her singles matches against Dominika Cibulkova and Daniela Hantuchova. This week she won her third WTA title at the GDF Suez Open in Paris, where she absolutely dominated new world number one Kim Clijsters in the final, in a way few players have ever been able to do.