Charleston Tournament: Fruhvirt’s winning turn, Kvitova finishes in the first round

The clay court season is starting. The WTA calendar continues its American tour, with the biggest tennis stars starting in Charleston. Among them, three Czechs (Fruhvirtova, Kvitova, Pliskova). Fruhvirtova and Kvitova are in the fight for the second round, Pliskova had a free draw thanks to the ranking. How did our hopes fare?

Fruhvirtova beat Konjuhova

the 16-year-old Czech had another tough test ahead of her. In the opening round of the tournament she faced Konjuh, the 62nd player in the world. The Croatian was a slight favourite. It was expected to be a very even match, which was confirmed in the end.

The opening set of the match was very even, decided by a single dropped serve. At 2::2 the Czech lost it and it was all over. The Croatian was more aggressive, while Fruhvirtová couldn’t get to her game. Konjuhova won the first set 6::4 and it has to be said that she deserved it.

But the match was still very open and the young Czech was not folding her arms. The next set went much better than the previous one. She was able to take her opponent’s serve, which gave her an interesting 3: 0 lead.

The Croatian started to make more errors, which the Czech tennis player took advantage of. Fruhvirtova scored one more break and the winner of the second set was decided. The Czech took it 6:1 and the match was heading into the deciding set.

The final set was similar to the previous one. Fruhvirtova quickly took the lead again, when she managed to break her opponent’s next serve. She was able to complete the break advantage.

the 16-year-old hopeful beat the Croatian 4: 6, 6: 1 and 6: 3 and scored another valuable victory. She continues to climb up the rankings and is currently ranked 166th. In the second round, she will face the better of the Wang – Bencic pair.

Kvitova did not finish her match

The experienced champion had a relatively playable first round, her opponent was Frech. Kvitova should have been the clear favourite in the match. At least the first half of the first set suggested that. Kvitova managed to take a 4:2 lead, but then it all turned into a crazy ending.

Kvitova lost two serves in a row, but her opponent couldn’t complete the serve and the first set went to a tiebreak. Kvitova fought off four set points in a row, but lost it in the end.

It was obvious that Kvitova’s path to victory would be a thorny one. The Czech, however, scored a break early in the second set to take a 2:0 lead. It seemed that a winning turnaround was not impossible. But that hope only lasted for a moment.

The Pole then won 3 games in a row and was back in the saddle again. Kvitova’s movement deficit was evident and she decided to call the match at 6::7, 2::3. Charleston is thus another tournament where Kvitova says goodbye too soon. The reappearance of the lost form is still in sight.

Source: Twitter, WTA