Petra prevails in grasscourt comeback

Published by Matt Trollope

Petra Kvitova dropped just five games in her grasscourt comeback match in Birmingham; Getty Images
Petra Kvitova marked a welcome return to the lawns of England with a straight-sets win over fellow Czech Tereza Smitkova in Birmingham.

Petra Kvitova, back on the surface she loves most, looked like she’d never been away.

Still in the early stages of her comeback from an horrific knife attack in her home in December that caused extensive damage to her playing hand, the Czech completed a 6-2 6-3 win over countrywoman Tereza Smitkova.

“For the first match on grass it was pretty good. I served well, and played some good shots from the baseline, and I think it was good timing on the court today,” Kvitova said.

Joining the seventh-seeded Kvitova in the second round in Birmingham were fellow seeds Johanna Konta, Kristina Mladenovic and Garbine Muguruza.

Konta, the fourth seed, beat Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets, while No.6 seed Muguruza needed three sets to subdue Russian qualifier Elizaveta Kulichkova. Mladenovic, seeded fifth, saw off Duan Ying-Ying in straight sets.

The news was not so good for No.3 seed Dominika Cibulkova, who fell to former top-10 star Lucie Safarova in a two-hour, 40-minute thriller that the Czech nabbed 7-5 6-7(7) 7-5.

Also exiting was last week’s Nottingham champion Donna Vekic.

> RELATED: Vekic victorious in Nottingham

Vekic, who beat Konta in the final for her first WTA title in two years, spluttered in a 6-2 7-6(2) loss to Alison Riske.

Meanwhile, Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and former Eastbourne finalist, was remaining cautious in her return to the game.

“I have made no change to the way I play. We have still been worrying about it (the injury) so I still have days off, to remind us to be careful,” she explained.

“My hand is not 100 per cent and may never be. It may take one or two years. I am trying to play as I did before but we will see.”

Kvitova in the second round will face local player Naomi Broady.

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