Petra Kvitova admitted to an attack of nerves before sweeping past Kiki Bertens with a 6-1 6-0 victory in the opening round at Wimbledon.
The defending champion dropped only one service point – a double fault – as she dispatched world No108 Bertens in just 35 minutes on a sweltering Centre Court.
The Czech No2 seed will face Japan’s Kurumi Nara or Magda Linette of Poland in the second round.
Kvitova said: “I’m glad how I played today. To relax again after the sickness I had, it’s still in a good way.
“It’s kind of tough to describe. I was really nervous before. But when I was stepping on the court, the people starting to clap kind of very nicely, I had a little goosebump.
“I had great memories from last year. When I started to play, I was kind of smashing the serves, as well, it was a good sign. So I was little bit relaxed afterwards.
“I think in the first round, every time you are a big favourite for the match. It’s a lot of expectation, not only for yourself, but the people around, the media and everything.
“It’s just something you have to really handle it well. Always struggling in the beginning of the tournaments. The opponents are more relaxed every time they’re playing someone in the top 10, for example.”
Kvitova raced through the opening set in 18 minutes, dropping just one point on her service to Bertens before breaking her opponent in the opening game of the second on her way to a bagel.
And she admitted that her totally one-sided victory was one of the quickest she has recorded to date.
She said: “I never had a clock on my hand. But I think, for sure, one of the fastest ones.
“I think it was nice. Unfortunately maybe for people it was a little bit quick. My parents came. I think they are happy, anyway.”
Main image courtesy of gettyimages.com
