Paris: Petra Kvitova admitted she still finds the attention that comes with being a Grand Slam winner difficult to deal with after starting her French Open bid with a laboured victory against Marina Erakovic.
The Czech fourth seed took almost two and a half hours to get the better of 80th-ranked New Zealander Erakovic in front of a largely deserted Court Philippe Chatrier on Tuesday, eventually progressing 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to a second-round tie against Spain’s Silvia Soler-Espinosa.
The tall left-hander came up with some impressive forehand winners from the back of the court but was broken six times and committed 47 unforced errors as she struggled to make it five wins out of five against Erakovic.
“I have to say the conditions weren’t really easy for me. I think it was quite cold and the balls are really heavy, and they didn’t really fly,” she said.
“It was very difficult today. It was quite a long match, big fight. Sometimes I couldn’t win my serve. So it was a little bit difficult. But that’s how it is in the first round of Grand Slams. I’m just glad I’m still in and still playing.
“She’s a really smart player with a good touch. So, yeah, I knew it’s gonna be difficult.
“I played her last time here, as well, and it was two sets. But, anyway, every match is different. I’m just glad that I won.”
It was not the most convincing of starts for a player who was a semi-finalist in Paris in 2012 and is fresh from winning the title on clay in Madrid earlier this month, a performance that will have further raised expectations around her back home in the Czech Republic.
She is the leading name among the 11 Czech players in the women’s draw, but Kvitova, who won Wimbledon last year for the second time, says she has never fully got used to being in the limelight.
“It took me a while to get used to all these things — sponsors, and the media and TV and everything,” admitted the 25-year-old, who took a six-week break from the sport earlier this year citing exhaustion.
“So I think it really has to find the balance between everything and it was really difficult. And still I’m happy if I can close the door of my apartment,” she added with a smile.
Earlier, fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki won through to the second round with little fuss, beating Italy’s Karin Knapp 6-3, 6-0.
The Danish former world number one, who has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, struggled to find her rhythm initially and the first six games on Court Suzanne Lenglen lasted almost an hour.
However, the 27-year-old Italian Knapp, who came into the second Grand Slam of the year on the back of claiming her second career title in Nuremberg last week, was the architect of her own downfall in the end with a total of 50 unforced errors. Wozniacki now goes on to face Germany’s Julia Goerges, who beat Coco Vandeweghe of the United States 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
