Petra Kvitova vs. Angelique Kerber: Quarter-Final Preview - Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2012
World number four, Petra Kvitova, locks horns with the German number one, Angelique Kerber, in the quarter-final of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia on Saturday. It will be an epic match and the upset is expected with great odds.
It means the 11th ranked German can defeat the fourth seed Czech.
Both these players have already played each other this year in the quarter-final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament in Stuttgart, German. Kerber was the unlucky lady in that encounter losing out in straight sets 4-6, 4-6
but she looks to flabbergast everyone with a stunning triumph over Kvitova who has recently been failing to impress the crowd this time around.
The Czech has already lost her third spot in the ranking to the Pole number one, Agnieszka Radwanska and looks to go down further with some dismal performance, coupled with chronic injuries and illness. It has been a pathetic year
overall for the 22-year-old Czech. However, she looks to revive her form before the year’s second Grand Slam tournament, the Roland Garros French Open, kicks off and this is the perfect platform for her.
Kerber, on the other hand, is enjoying one of the best seasons of her career. She has grabbed a couple of titles including the Open GDF Suez in Paris and the e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open in Copenhagen. She was ranked amongst the Top-30
at the start of the year but cruised her way up to break into the Top-20 players and looks to continue the trend and become the only representative of Germany amongst the Top-10 players. So, the stakes are high on both sides.
Looking at the record this year; Kvitova has won 21 out of 27 matches she has played. However, all those victories were against the inferior ranked players and her bad luck against the top seeds hasn’t ended so far. Kerber, on
the other hand, has clinched 32 victories from 41 encounters; this means that she has played more tennis and stayed consistent throughout. This factor also tilts the odds in her favour.
Coming towards the performance of both players in Rome; the Czech starlet received a first round Bye courtesy to her higher rank and started her campaign against the Russian tennis ace, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She was tested
by the Russian on all levels and forced to earn points. However, Kvitova manages to edge out with a straight sets win. In the second clash, Romanian beauty queen, Sorana Cirstea, gave nightmares to Kvitova and forced her to win the match in three sets.
Kerber started off in shaky fashion against the Aussie qualifier and escaped scare to register a win in three sets. However, Vania King of America and her compatriot, Julia Goerges, proved to be a slice of cake for her.
Stakes are high and the class is even higher at both sides. Both players are very tough competitors but the German tennis ace, in my opinion, will sneak a win due to her consistency and willpower to stay focused on the task that
is witnessed throughout the season.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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