Indian Wells, USA

Petra Kvitova starts strong, finishes solid in intriguing win over Elizabeth Mandlik

Over the course of 86 minutes, Kvitova won the match in convincing and revealing fashion against the 21-year-old American, whose mother is also a famed player from Czechoslovakia: Hall of Famer Hana Mandlikova.

ByJoel Drucker

Published Mar 11, 2023

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WATCH: Danka Kovinic defeats Emma Raducanu in the 2023 Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open first round

INDIAN WELLS — A moderate degree of intrigue surrounded a second round match this Friday afternoon at the BNP Paribas Open between fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and a wild card, American Elizabeth Mandlik. The twist in the matchup is that Mandlik’s mother is also a famed player from Czechoslovakia, Hall of Famer Hana Mandlikova.

The 21-year-old Mandlik is now ranked 155. In yesterday’s first round match, Mandlik more than justified her wild card with a third-set tiebreaker victory over veteran Alison Riske-Amritraj. Mandlik’s base is solid, a sound mix of balance, posture and smooth groundstrokes.

At this point, though, she lacks the best possible mix of power and versatility required to at least attempt to derail a competitor as formidable as Kvitova. Over the course of 86 minutes, Kvitova won the match in a fashion both convincing and revealing: 6-1, 7-5.

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After Mandlik went up 5-3 in the second set, Kvitova responded by dropping only five points to close out the match.

Early on, Mandlik hardly posed a question. Her second serve in particular was a liability, Kvitova often lacing it with the kind of deep hard drives that have earned her two Wimbledon singles titles. In the opening set, Mandlik only won two points on her second serve; in the second, just six.

It’s fascinating to note that in the two Wimbledon finals Kvitova has played, she rolled through her respective opponents, Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard, in straight sets. Far more often have come those moments when a Kvitova match suddenly becomes tighter for what appears to be no apparent reason.

Sure enough, following a trip to the bathroom, Mandlik adapted well as the second set began, taking the first two games. Her depth and movement improved as she began to more effectively absorb Kvitova’s power. Naturally, this elicited more errors from Kvitova. Soon, Mandlik went up 5-3.

From there, Kvitova stepped it up, dropping only five points and closing out the match on her first match point.

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