Petra Kvitova is still awaiting her first win since returning from having a baby after losing 6-4 3-6 4-6 to France’s Varvara Gracheva at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Kvitova, 34, who returned from a 17-month break last month after giving birth to her son Petr, ran out of steam in a see-saw battle, which lasted two hours and 23 minutes.
Gracheva, who now faces fast-rising Russian Mirra Andreeva in the second round, fought back after losing the opening set 6-4, decisively breaking Kvitova to lead 4-2 in the second before levelling the match.
Kvitova hit back from 3-1 down to level it at 3-3 in the decider but crucially lost serve again at 4-4 and the world No 70 served out for the victory.
After her win, Gracheva paid tribute to former world No 2 Kvitova: “If you let me step back a little bit, I really want to congratulate her,” she said in her on-court interview.
“Because she had a child quite recently, and I’m so happy that she now has the role of a mother and a tennis player, which is very demanding. It’s very inspiring for sports, athletes, women – it’s just amazing. Petra, my admiration to you – you’re the best!”
In her first match back on the tour, at the ATX Open in Texas at the end of last month, Kvitova was beaten in three sets by British No 6 Jodie Burrage.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Pegula flies Austin finalists to Indian Wells in private jet
The finalists of the ATX Open in Austin were spared a gruelling late-night trip to Indian Wells following Sunday’s action after American Jessica Pegula flew them to the tournament in the Californian desert in her private jet.
Pegula, whose billionaire parents own Buffalo’s NFL and NHL franchises, won the singles title in Austin defeating compatriot McCartney Kessler 7-5 6-2 but hung around as Kessler and Zhang Shuai lost to Yuan Yue and Anna Blinkova in the doubles final.
With the players then facing a quick turnaround ahead of the Indian Wells main draw, Pegula offered to fly all of them to California for the WTA 1000 tournament.
Zhang thanked Pegula for her generosity on Instagram, adding that they would otherwise have faced a late night layover in Los Angeles or trips to nearby airports in Dallas and Houston.
“You know she can leave away right after her singles final, but she is such a selfless and generous girl,” Zhang wrote.
“This message is NOT to show I took the jet, just wanted to appreciate and transferring the love.”
Blinkova also shared Zhang’s story on Instagram and thanked world No 4 Pegula, who has amassed more than $17m in prize money in her career.
China’s Yue also expressed gratitude to US Open runner-up Pegula on social media for the luxurious ride.
“Otherwise, we would all have been on the road for at least nine hours,” she added.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
