KRISTEN’S KOURT: Kvitova Can’t Pass the Kirilenko Test By Kristen Tracy

Written by: Staff on 13th March 2013

KRISTEN'S KOURT: Kvitova Can't Pass the Kirilenko Test By Kristen Tracy

epa03618510 Maria Kirilenko of Russia returns a shot to Mallory Burdette of USA during their match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 10 March 2013. EPA/PAUL BUCK |

There are two things I like about Maria Kirilenko and Petra Kvitova. One, is that you hardly ever hear that menacing screech that seems to naturally emanate from every other WTA player every time the racket makes contact with the ball. The second, is that both players tend to typically play on the faster side – not taking a ton of times between points. But under the California desert sun, anything goes and the matchup today between the Czech Kvitova and the Russian Kirilenko at the BNP Paribas Open was anything but ordinary. For starters, it had to be one of the longest women’s matches I’ve ever seen. It lasted 2 hours and 28 minutes, but felt much longer. It was hot out there today, and both women were taking full advantage of the much debated 25 second rule.

The points were short and neither player ever fully had the advantage throughout the entire match. Kvitova, as the 5th seed, went into the match with slightly higher expectations than the 13th seeded Kirilenko, but both players felt pressure to perform – knowing the winner would play either Maria Sharapova or Sara Errani in the semifinals. Petra seemed to get off to a good start winning the first set 6-4. She looked to be hitting the ball cleanly and was keeping the points short; she even went up a break early in the second set. But Maria began to fight, and from there on out it became less about each point and more about just trying to hold serve at all. Kirilenko took the second set 6-4, and we were headed to a third. By now, it wasn’t just the fans becoming restless. Both Kirilenko and Kvitova seemed to be getting sluggish, and their racquets just looked heavier. Three breaks of serve though, and Maria Kirilenko was victorious closing out the match 6-3.

It was a victory at Indian Wells long overdue for the young Russian, whose appearance in 2013 is her 10th at the tournament. She herself, acknowledged the accomplishment with a resounding “finally!” during her on-court post-match interview. She also expressed her pleasure with the way she’s playing this week. “So I just feel now that I start to play better just for ‑‑ I always play not bad, I can say, but the right moment and the good moment for me I think is right now.”

Today was Kirilenko’s second win over a top 10 player in as many days. Should she keep up the fight, she has a very good shot at making the women’s final on Sunday. She’ll have a tough time though, because Victoria Azarenka seems to be unstoppable.

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