(Wimbledon) Petra Kvitova reached the third round of the Wimbledon tournament after ousting Ana Bogdan 6-1, 7-6 (5) on Thursday.
Posted at 10:28 a.m.
Kvitova led 5-1 in the second set and had match point when she was on serve at 5-4, but had to wait for her second to confirm her win after Bogdan sent his backhand into the net.
Kvitova triumphed at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014. She was then attacked with a knife at home in 2016, sustaining serious injuries to her left hand – the one with which she holds her racquet. She then went under the knife and took more than five months to fully recover from the attack.
The Czech, who started the tournament after triumphing on the lawn in Eastbourne, will face Spaniard Paula Badosa in the next round. The latter, seeded fourth, beat Irina Bara 6-3, 6-2.
Elsewhere, Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff and last year’s tournament runner-up Karolina Pliskova are due to play their second-round match later today.
Tournament favorite Iga Swiatek must also comply.
Pliskova, the sixth seed, will face home favorite Katie Boulter in the first match on the main court. It will then be the turn of Nadal, the second seed, against Ricardas Berankis. “Rafa” won the first two major tournaments of the season, bringing his career tally to 22.
For his part, Gauff has an appointment with the Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu. The 18-year-old American was a finalist at the French Open earlier this month.
Swiatek, the Roland-Garros champion, will covet for her part a 37e straight win against Dutch Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove. They will play on court number 1.
Finally, Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut withdrew after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
The 17e seed of the tournament was to face the Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan in the second round on the London lawn.