Fan favorites are doing well in the California desert as the first day of the third round comes to a close. Rebecca Peterson of Sweden, who came in through qualifying, is the only unseeded player left in the bottom half of the draw.
Petra Kvitova survives Jelena Ostapenko rollercoaster ride 0-6 6-0 6-4
Through short rallies and medical timeouts on both sides, world No.15 Kvitova made it into the round of 16. After a first set bagel, the Czech player went on to win ten straight games before Ostapenko received medical treatment. The Latvian world No.25 had been coughing throughout the match, which was not surprising considering she had already been close to withdrawing due to illness before the previous round.
As Ostapenko was mounting a comeback, the 33-year-old Kvitova hurt her finger with an awkward forehand and needed medical treatment to stop the bleeding where skin had separated from the finger nail at 4-4. With both players patched up, play proceeded and Kvitova went on to win on her second match point.
Speaking with press after the match, Kvitova said: “Those 10 games I was still telling myself that I have to go for every shot because she could really come back for any shot and at any point to be back in the game, which she showed.”
Kvitova did admit, “I feel very…
