MADRID: Jule Niemeier of Germany notched the second Top Ten victory of her career after beating 3-time champion Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova in the second round of the Madrid Open today, April 27.
Niemeier defeated No. 10 seed Kvitova 7-6(9), 6-1 by fending off two set points in the opening set. Elise Mertens of Belgium, the No. 24 seed, or Rebecca Marino of Canada will be her next opponent.
After winning her 30th WTA Tour championship in Miami and taking part in her 100th WTA 1000 competition of her career, three-time Madrid champion Kvitova was back in action. The Czech was defeated for the fourth time in a row in Madrid after being forced to withdraw from Stuttgart last week due to a right foot issue.
In 17 meetings this year, the German has only defeated Kvitova once, and Madrid was the first time she had won back-to-back wins since October 2022.
In the tiebreak, Niemeier again jumped out to an early lead, but Kvitova saved four more set chances by hitting her greatest smashes. However, Niemeier reacted admirably, surviving two break points before seizing the opportunity at 9-9 and succeeding on her eighth attempt.
The World No. 67 breezed through the second set after taking the first one, as Kvitova proceeded to make a total of 53 unforced errors compared to just 24 winners.
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