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2014 Petra Kvitová tennis season

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Calendar prize money
  
$4,853,236

Calendar titles
  
3

Australian Open
  
1R

Season record
  
43–16 (72.88%)

Year-end ranking
  
No. 4

French Open
  
3R

2014 Petra Kvitová tennis season

The 2014 Petra Kvitová tennis season officially began on 5 January with the start of the 2014 WTA Tour at the 2014 Apia International Sydney.

Contents

Sydney International

Kvitová started her season in Sydney where she was defeated in the opening round last year. As the second seed Kvitová received a first round bye. She then defeated qualifier Christina Mchale and compatriot Lucie Šafářová. In the semi-final, Kvitová was defeated by qualifier and eventual champion Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets.

Australian Open

In the first major of the year, Kvitová drew world No. 88 Luksika Kumkhum in the opening round, and was upset by the Thai in three sets. It was Kvitová's earliest exit in a major since 2011 U.S. Open.

Qatar Open

As the 3rd seed at the Qatar Open, Kvitová received a bye in the first round. In the second round she faced former world No. 1 Venus Williams. The match proved to be a harsh and intense match between the two players, with Petra winning the first set and Venus winning the second. In the deciding set, Kvitová served and failed at match point which took the match to a tiebreak. She then missed a second match point and faced a match point. Kvitová ultimately took three consecutive point from a match point down and closed out the match. She beat compatriot Lucie Šafářová in the third round, before losing to Jelena Janković.

Dubai Tennis Championships

Kvitová failed to defend her title in Dubai, losing to world No. 16 Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets in the second round.

Indian Wells Masters

At the 2014 BNP Paribas Open, Kvitová was seeded 8th and won her first two matches against Coco Vandeweghe and Svetlana Kuznetsova, but lost in the 4th round to Dominika Cibulková in straight sets.

Miami Masters

Kvitová was the 8th seed at the Miami Open and she reached the quarterfinals of the event for the first time in her career, she had never advanced beyond third round previously. She defeated Paula Ormaechea and Donna Vekić to set up a fourth round clash with 12th seed Ana Ivanovic. Despite losing the first set, Kvitová then double-bageled the Serb to take the match. In the last eight, she lost to defending finalist Maria Sharapova in straight sets.

Fed Cup semifinal

In her first match, Kvitová was pitted against young Italian Camila Giorgi and she won in straight sets. In the following round, she avenged her loss to Roberta Vinci from last year when she defeated the veteran in straight sets as well.

Stuttgart Open

Kvitová, the 3rd seed at the Stuttgart Open, suffered a shocking loss in the second round to former top 30 player Alisa Kleybanova.

Madrid Open

Seeded 5th at the Madrid Open, Kvitová won her first round match against Sorana Cîrstea in three sets. Then, she defeated Varvara Lepchenko and Šafářová to reach the quarterfinals where she was supposed to play world No. 1 Serena Williams. However, her opponent conceded a walkover and Petra sailed into semifinals where she lost to Simona Halep in three sets.

Italian Open

After receiving a first round bye at the Italian Open, Kvitová, the 5th seed, was defeated by Zhang Shuai in three sets in round 2.

French Open

At the French Open, Kvitová comfortably won over Zarina Diyas and Marina Erakovic in the first 2 rounds, before facing former French Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. The third round encounter was extremely tight, with Kvitová losing in 3 sets.

Eastbourne

Kvitová started her campaign in Eastbourne as the 2nd seed. She defeated compatriot Lucie Šafářová in the first round and Varvara Lepchenko in the following. She withdrew from the quarter final encounter against Heather Watson due to hamstring injury.

Wimbledon

Kvitová entered the Wimbledon Championships as a heavy favourite, having won her maiden Grand Slam title here in 2011. After winning the first 2 rounds against Andrea Hlaváčková and Mona Barthel comfortably, Kvitová faced former champion Venus Williams in the third round. Similar to their Doha encounter, Venus pushed Kvitová to a third set. The decider featured both players playing well, with the Czech ultimately sailing through. Kvitová secured a quarter-final place by defeating Peng Shuai in the following round. With Maria Sharapova exit in the 4th round, Kvitová was the only remaining major champion in the last eight. She then beat compatriots Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová and Lucie Šafářová in the quarter final and semi final respectively. In her second major final, Kvitová completely outplayed 13th seed and maiden finalist Eugenie Bouchard in only 55 minutes. The match was the fifth-shortest women's final match in the tournament history.

Canadian Open

Kvitová officially began her US Open series campaign in Montreal as the 2nd seed. She defeated Casey Dellacqua in her opener after receiving a first round bye. In the third round, she lost to eventual semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova in three sets.

Cincinnati Masters

At the Cincinnati Masters, Kvitová was seeded 3rd and had first round bye again. This time she faced Ukrainian No. 1 Elina Svitolina in her opening match but was ousted in straight sets.

Connecticut Open

Petra entered New Haven as the 2nd seed and defending finalist. She defeated Makarova in straight sets in her opening match after receiving a first round bye again. In the quarterfinals, she defeated Záhlavová-Strýcová. She reached the final for the third straight year when she overcame Aussie Samantha Stosur in the semis. In the final, she faced good friend Magdaléna Rybáriková whom she defeated in straight sets to claim her 13th WTA title.

US Open

Kvitová was seeded 3rd at the US Open, the major where she has yet to reach the quarterfinals, having never going beyond the 4th round. In the first round, she defeated Kristina Mladenovic. She reached the third round after scoring a win over fellow Czech Petra Cetkovská. She then lost in the third round for the second straight year, this time to Serbian Aleksandra Krunić in straight sets.

Wuhan Open

Playing in the hometown of her good friend, the recently retired Li Na, Kvitová the 3rd seed cruised into the third round with a straight sets win over Italian Karin Knapp. She then booked her spot in the quarterfinals with a 3-set victory over compatriot Karolína Plíšková. In the last eight, she went on to defeat Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia and set up a semifinal clash with Svitolina, whom she lost to in Cincinnati in August. But Kvitová was too good this time, beating her in two sets to reach the final, where she defeated Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets – a rematch of this year's Wimbledon.

China Open

Kvitová next played at the China Open in Beijing, where she was the 3rd seed. She received a 1R Bye due to still playing in Wuhan. She defeated Peng Shuai in round two. Kvitová reached quarterfinals after a Venus Williams walkover and beat Italian Roberta Vinci in a tight two-setter. In the semifinals Kvitová had to fight hard, and got past Samantha Stosur in a three-set battle. In the final, Kvitová suffered a defeat at the hands of Maria Sharapova. This was Kvitová's 2nd loss to Sharapova this season, and 6th overall.

WTA Finals

Kvitová was a favourite entering the 2014 WTA Finals in Singapore. She was the third seed and was drawn into the same group as Maria Sharapova, Agnieszka Radwańska and Caroline Wozniacki. She lost her first match against Radwańska in straight sets. She then went on to upset Maria Sharapova in straight sets, recording her first victory over the Russian in 5 attempts. She would qualify for the semifinals if she had defeated Wozniacki, but fell in straight sets. She exited the tournament placed last in her group.

Fed Cup final

Kvitová represented her home country where they faced the German team. In the opening rubber, she defeated Andrea Petkovic in straight sets. As a result of compatriot Šafářová winning the second match, the team was one win away from the title and all hopes were on Kvitová to defeat her opponent and fellow Top 10 Angelique Kerber in next rubber. She did so in a tight three set match and Czech Republic claimed their third Fed Cup title in 4 years.

Head-to-head matchups

Ordered by number of wins, as of Fed Cup final

References

2014 Petra Kvitová tennis season Wikipedia