Kvitova has Czechs in sight of Fed Cup victory

PRAGUE (AFP) –

Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic returns the ball to Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic during the International Tennis Federation Fed Cup final match in Prague. Kvitova won 6-4, 6-1.

Petra Kvitova gave holders Czech Republic a 2-0 lead in the Fed Cup final here on Saturday after beating Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-1.

The left-handed Kvitova, the world number eight and the Czech Republic’s number one player, is still recovering from a cold that forced her to pull out of the WTA Championship last week.

But she only needed an hour and 20 minutes to see off Jankovic, the world number 22 and Serbia’s number two.

Despite her sickness, Kvitova said she felt “very comfortable.”

“I didn’t know what I could expect from myself on the court from the beginning,” she said.

“And at the end, I really wanted the match to be over,” added Kvitova, who dominated the game, relying on a first serve that Jankovic could not resist.

“Actually I’m surprised (at) how I played,” said Kvitova.

Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic returns a ball to Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic during the opening match of the Fed Cup final in Prague. Safarova won the match 6-4, 6-3.

Jankovic “didn’t make mistakes (at first) and I knew some chance will come and that I’ll wait for it and it really came,” she added.

In the first rubber of the final, Lucie Safarova had earlier given the Czechs the lead by beating Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-3.

Safarova, the world number 17, needed an hour and 41 minutes to sink world number 12 Ivanovic — Kvitova’s rival for Sunday’s first reverse singles.

“I really want to play tomorrow and have a third point,” Kvitova said.