Emotions flood back for Kvitova as she reaches quarterfinals

PARIS (AP) — Petra Kvitova stood wide-eyed and perfectly still, scarcely believing she was through to her first French Open quarterfinal in eight years after winning against Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-4. on Monday.

When the chair umpire climbed down and pointed to the mark confirming her two-handed backhand landed just in, she released her emotions. The seventh-seeded Czech player looked up in the air, then blew kisses and waved to the small crowd gathered on Court Philippe Chatrier, the tournament’s main stadium.

“Yeah, I got a bit emotional last two points of my match,” she said. “My memories, happy memories. When I made my comeback here in 2017, when I step on the Philippe Chatrier, I couldn’t really imagine me to be in the quarterfinal of this slam. Everything just came back to me.”

Three years ago, the left-handed Kvitova made her comeback at Roland Garros after sustaining serious injuries to her left hand following a knife attack by a robber at her home in the Czech Republic.

“When I’m talking, I’m getting emotional again. It’s been a long ride definitely. Everything came to my mind,” she said. “My whole family, people who I loved to help me through the tough, tough time. I don’t know, just everything came back.”

Then there were some match-point nerves to deal with.

At the U.S. Open last month, at the same stage of the competition, Kvitova wasted four match points in a loss to American Shelby Rogers.

“That match was really tough. Even I play great, I mean, I didn’t just make it,” she said. “It happen to me after such a long time that I didn’t win the match from the match point. Especially in a Grand Slam, right? It was really painful.”

Kvitova’s two Grand Slam titles were won on the green grass of Wimbledon in 2011 and ‘14.

Success has so far eluded the former second-ranked player on Roland Garros’ red clay. Since her semifinal here eight years ago, she’d reached the fourth round just once prior to this tournament, and that was five years ago.

“It’s been a miracle for me to make the semifinal here,” she said. “After eight years to be in the quarterfinal again, it’s great. I’m really happy for that, that I’m still able to play on all surfaces.”

Kvitova had a first chance to close out the match serving at 5-2, but Zhang broke and then held.

Her next opponent, Laura Siegemund, meanwhile, endured sub-standard snacks in beating Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-2.

As she was gathering her things before leaving, a court-side microphone captured an exchange with an official. Siegemund explained, in crude terms, how unimpressed she was with what she’d been given to eat by her physio.

“I have to have a word with my physio,” Siegemund said, emphasising her disappointment with an expletive.

Siegemund saw the funny side when asked about it after the match.

“There are cameras everywhere and you cannot say anything without anybody noticing it. It’s fine,” she said, laughing. “I was trying to get some carbs in. I tried the (energy) bar, couldn’t get it down really. So I asked my physio to bring me something else. I just wanted to get some carbs, some potato or rice, whatever.”

The German player had never previously been beyond the second round at the French Open and never beyond the third round at any major tournament.

In remaining men’s fourth-round play, top-ranked Novak Djokovic was facing 15th-seeded Karen Khachanov.

Earlier, No. 5-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 13-seeded Andrey Rublev reached the last eight at Roland Garros for the first time.

Tsitsipas won against No. 18-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-2, and Rublev beat unseeded Marton Fucsovics 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Tsitsipas has some treatment for an irritation to his eye at the start of the second set and saved two set points in the tiebreaker.

“I feel irritation in my eye and it happened in my previous matches as well. It’s still a bit irritated, I think it’s red,” Tsitsipas said. “The tiebreak was very tense, the tiebreak was where all the money was. I showed lots of discipline.”

Rublev saved three set points serving at 5-4 down and 0-40 in the fourth set, then won on his second match point when Fucsovics put a forehand into the net.

Serving at 3-2 up and deuce in the first set, Fucsovics was unhappy with a line call given against him. He insisted the chair umpire look from a different angle.

“Come here and check from here, please,” Fucsovics said. “It’s your mistake, man. It’s your mistake, OK?”

The umpire checked, and still upheld the line call.

Two games later, Rublev was unhappy with his racket.

“Don’t understand how they can string so bad like this,” he muttered.

Rublev is a two-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist.

He next faces Tsitsipas, having beaten him on clay in the Hamburg Open fina l last month.

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