Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova meet in the first round of the 2022 tennis Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Petra Kvitova will play her first match in a couple of weeks after losing her opener in Charleston and retiring midway in the second set due to a thigh injury. In her last match, Kvitova struggled mightily with her serve, which included seven double faults. Kvitova did make the quarterfinals in Miami, and we know what she’s capable of when she’s feeling well, so it’s going to be interesting to see what the time off can do for her game. Pliskova has 57 career wins over top-10 players, and five of those wins came since 2019. Kvitova has won five of her last eight matches on clay court.
Karolina Pliskova is in shaky at best form as she battled an arm injury throughout the off season, and she’s played just four matches this year overall. Pliskova did win her first match of the year in Charleston, but she followed up that performance with a straight sets loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova. In the losing effort, Pliskova won just 49 percent of her total service points and didn’t produce a single break point. Pliskova has lost six of her last 10 matches overall, so we’re not sure what version of the top-10 player in the world we’re going to get. Pliskova has split her last six matches on clay court.
Kvitova has won three of the four meetings against Pliskova, which includes a victory in the only meeting on clay in 2018 Madrid. However, Pliskova won the most recent match in 2018 Guadalajara. Three of the four meetings were decided in straight sets.
I’m not sure exactly what we’re going to get from either of these players, as we know what they’re capable of, but neither are playing well, and they’ve both battled injuries. With that said, Kvitova and her game gives her the edge on clay, the same surface she beat Pliskova on a few years ago. Pliskova’s power doesn’t shine as much as clay, and her arm injury clearly is still a factor.
Give me Kvitova.