For one brief moment, Vera Dushevina finally had Petra Kvitova right where she wanted her. Straddling the edge of no-man's land, Kvitova looked vulnerable at net. Then the 6-foot Czech read the direction of Dushevina's pass, sprawled into a near-split, and speared a forehand volley into the open court to break serve for the fifth straight time.
Even when she was pushed out of position, Kvitova had a convincing answer. The second seed spotted Dushevina two games at the start, then went into overdrive in an overwhelming shotmaking spree that saw her win the final 12 games to close a commanding, 6-2, 6-0 Australian Open first-round victory.
There is a time and place for everything, and the first match on Rod Laver Arena was not the time or place for Dushevina to face Kvitova for the first time. Weeks after she collected her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last July, Kvitova bottomed out in a listless U.S. Open first-round exit. Playing with purpose today, a clinical Kvitova cracked 19 winners from all areas of the court and broke serve six times to storm into the second round. Her only real missteps were five double faults, including three when she dropped serve in the second game of the match.
If you've ever played tennis, you had to feel for Dushevina. The 2002 Wimbledon junior champ was outclassed by the reigning Wimbledon champion, but she absorbed the beatdown with decorum. She didn't sulk, toss her racquet or erupt in a primal scream of frustration—she kept hustling, but could not come close to closing the gap on an imperious Kvitova. Once the world No. 2 forced Dushevina on the defensive, there was little chance to create a role reversal in rallies.
The beauty of Kvitova's game is not only her effortless power, but the fact that unlike so many baseline bashers, she can show you the entire shot spectrum when she's confident and playing well. Kvitova lays her wrist back on her forehand, making it very difficult to read the direction of that shot. She can whip her wicked lefty slice serve on the ad side to create open space for the forehand down the line. It's an almost indefensible play on a fast court, but Kvitova wasn't committed to any one pattern today. She banged serves into the body, mixed her one-handed slice backhand with her bold, flat two-hander, and showed soft hands around net. Kvitova dug out a fine backhand volley for double set point before sealing the opener in just 27 minutes.
If the WTA kept a stat on shanked shots, Kvitova would surely lead the tour in provoking mishits. The pace and weight of her shot, combined with that southpaw spin, conspired against Dushevina, causing the Moscow native to mistime several shots on the baseline.
Continuing her quest to surpass Caroline Wozniacki for the top spot, Kvitova will play either Carla Suarez Navarro or Irina-Camelia Begu in the second round.
—Richard Pagliaro