Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and teammate Tomas Berdych won their singles matches yesterday to give the Czech Republic a 2-1 win over Bulgaria at the Hopman Cup.
Kvitova won the last five games of her match to beat Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-2, before seventh-ranked Berdych defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3.
Pironkova and Dimitrov won the mixed doubles, saving three match points to defeat the Czech pair 2-6, 6-3, 11-9.
Photo: AFP
World No. 2 Kvitova won five other tournaments last year to add to her Wimbledon championship, then she helped the Czech Republic to the Fed Cup title. She was also named WTA Tour Player of the Year.
“Of course, the first match was tough and I won it,” she said of yesterday’s singles win. “The last season was longer than normal and I had some rest. Hopefully, I am ready to play matches — we will see how it goes.”
Berdych’s best performance in Grand Slams last year was when he secured a quarter-final berth at the Australian Open.
“The expectations are pretty much similar to last year,” Berdych said. “I want to end up again in the World Tour Finals in London, which means that I [need to] end up the year in the top eight, and then bring some even better results from the Grand Slams and move my game higher.”
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