TENNIS NEWS FROM MADRID BY GLOBAL CHICK : THE BATTLE OF THE COME-BACK QUEENS

Written by: Global Chick on 9th May 2015

TENNIS NEWS FROM MADRID BY GLOBAL CHICK : THE BATTLE OF THE COME-BACK QUEENS

epa04740577 Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova kisses her trophy after beating Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in their final match at the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 09 May 2015. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN |

Ok let’s be honest it was not the final anyone expected, but that’s what happens when you have a stacked draw and a stacked schedule!

We lost Simona Halep in the first round, but we gained Svetlana Kuznetsova who’s frank assessment of the scheduling was a breath of fresh air, saying: “For me the schedule would be pretty bad. I won’t be afraid to tell this word. I don’t understand like why I played last night like really late. I finish at 1:00. And today and tomorrow I play at 11:00 in the morning. To me it’s really unfair, the schedule. I guess priority is TV, but I guess they should defend more interest of players to make us recover.”

Meanwhile we had Petra Kvitova on a running theme of whether she was more than just good friends with the clay – was she at the dating stage?

It had been such a good run for Kuznetsova, but just ask Genie Bouchard what happens when you come up against Kvitova in the zone. From the outset she was swinging for the fences but more than that, moving extremely well even moving in for killer drop-shots.

Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova returns the ball to Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova during their final match at the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 09 May 2015. Kvitova won 6-1 and 6-2. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN

Sadly it was a match too far for Kuznetsova who very early on looked as though she was struggling, taking a medical timeout and re-emerging after the first set with some strapping, but that just made things worse. Kvitova switched up from peak to sheer ruthlessness, hitting left and right and leaving the Russian completely stranded.

At one stage she had to leave the problem for stomach problems, and as if being battered around the court had not been bad enough, she received a time violation for being late back. It has been all-around tough for the two-time Grand Slam champion.

She said: “I even surprise myself how I could handle everything, because I think I’ve had the most weird schedule in my life. Like some days I felt like I was basically sleeping on the court, not in my room. I just come there to take a nap and then I go back. I played first day at 11:00; second day I had a night match.”

She elaborated: “Then in one day I have again night match. I mean, I had all the schedule possible. I was really tired, especially Safarova match. I was convincing myself to try to fight a little bit, and like if I win I pull out next day because I was totally destroyed.

“Next day I say, Okay, I try to go out there and play and I beat Maria. I did my best hanging out there. Today I was a little bit off and Petra was playing amazing game. It happens, you know. It’s quite a good week, and I will take positive stuff out of there.”

It was a great comeback though for Kvitova. We wrote about how impressed we were at her openness in Stuttgart about the exhaustion and emptiness she was feeling. Despite coming back in a friendly environment like the Fed Cup semi-final, her re-introduction back on tour was a sharp delivery back to reality with a first round loss to Madison Brengle, and a couple of trying three-setters here in Madrid.

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova poses with her trophy after beating Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in their final match at the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 09 May 2015. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN

But what has been interesting is she is playing her own game, and learned (the hard way) that trying to out-rally Kuznetsova was not going to get her the win, so it was a very aggressive approach that yielded the results.

She said: “I knew that I have to play aggressively, because when it’s playing normal rallies I lost to her in Paris. So I know I have to go for the volley if there is the opportunity. It was very good, and I’m glad that everything went how I wanted.”

One can only hope that neither of these great fighters suffer an inevitably come-down in Rome, that Kuznetsova is fit enough to play, and that Kvitova finally moves on from just being friends with the clay.

“That’s important to know, that I can play still with my game the good tennis on the clay. Yeah, I hope I’m dating already.” (Smiling.)

Editors Note : Great to hear a player voice their disdain of the “SUITS” that schedule tennis matches. This overlapping , late starts happens the most at the Slams and at the combined men’s / ladies events. Tennis is not meant to be played into the wee hours of the night. Tennis players are fit and talented athletes but really. After 11 at night is just too late. What kind of dumb asses are doing the scheduling ? . Really ? TV happy ? Sponsors happy ? Fans not happy ! Players not happy ! Linesmen chair umps not happy ! Ball kids not happy ! Media not happy ! Event support staff not happy ! How can anyone preform well the next day or days? Come on powers that be. Get it figured out. Tennis should finish at 11 at the latest. Start at 11. Finish at 11. 12 hours of tennis is enough. Poor Global Chick is wiped out. And she is a party animal that usually does not get worn out. She said she is still tired from leaving the site after 3:00 I’m the morning after Andy Murray.

Topics: global chick, Madrid Masters, Mutua Madrid Open, Petra Kvitova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Tennis News, Wta

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10sBalls_com says:

May 9, 2015 at 2:43 pm

#TennisNews FROM @MutuaMadridOpen BY GLOBAL CHICK: THE BATTLE OF THE COME-BACK QUEENS http://t.co/wV18eVP6ap #MutuaMadridOpen #MadridMasters