Kvitova Is A Surprise First Round Loser At Australian Open

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 13th January 2014

Kvitova Is A Surprise First Round Loser At Australian Open

epa04018370 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in action against Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand during their first round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 13 January 2014. EPA/MAST IRHAM |

Petra Kvitova is a proven Grand Slam player, a former Wimbledon champion no less. But the Australian Open’s sixth seed looked anything but that quality as she suffered a humiliating first round exit to Thailand’s world no.88 Luksika Kumkhum.

Kvitova, a Aussie Open semi-finalist just two years ago, could offer no explanation for her 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 Margaret Court Arena demise and maintained she was hoping for much more after a productive off-season working with long-time coach David Kotyza.

“I really want to know what happened out there,” said Kvitova. “It was great off‑season. I was really excited to be here, feeling good. Unfortunately I didn’t play well, I didn’t play my game what I really tried all off‑season to work on.”

The 20-year-old Kumkhum emulated her famed compatriot Paradorn Srichaphan in bowing to all four sides of the crowd after her victory and enthused: “I’m very excited to beat the number six player in the world. Today is a great day for me, I am very happy.”

Kvitova did appear to show some signs of fatigue and played last week, reaching the semi-finals at the Apia International Sydney before losing to eventual champion Tsvetana Pironkova.

However, she did fall victim to a regular malady; a double fault at a crucial stage in the final set. Serving 4-3 in the third set to stay in the match, a mistimed double fault from the Czech gave Luksika a chance to seal the match.

“I actually tried to work on my serve and that’s one of the big things I need to improve,” said Kvitova who hit eight double faults in total and only managed to win 38% of the points on her second serve. “But before my match I was nervous and probably I put a lot of pressure on my back.”

Kumkhum clearly loves Melbourne. Last year she progressed through the qualifying competition and went on to beat Sofia Arvidsson in the first round. Now she has something even better to remember.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Australian Open, David Kotyza, Luksika Kumkhum, Melbourne, Paradorn Srichaphan, Petra Kvitova, Tennis, Tennis News, Tsvetana Pironkova