Big Upsets of '18, No. 10: Czech-mate for Kvitova

Enjoy a look back at the biggest upsets of the season, starting at No. 10 and counting all the way down to the top stunner of the year.

In the first quarter of the year, Petra Kvitova lit up hard courts around the world, winning two titles along the way.

When the tour turned to the clay, the Czech started her campaign at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston. Making her debut appearance at the WTA event, Kvitova received a first-round bye, then had to face Kristyna Pliskova in the second.

The two faced each other once before, in Beijing on hard courts in 2017 in a match Kvitova took in straight sets.

In fact, that win was just part of a long streak for Kvitova against her countrywomen as it had been several years since she lost to someone from the Czech Republic.

In this match, it looked like the run was going to keep on as the two-time Wimbledon champion blasted her way through the opener, winning it 6-1. But in the second set, the No. 77-ranked Pliskova pulled off a rout of her own, taking it 6-1.

Her strong play continued in the decider, as she soon went up 5-1, 40-15. Kvitova fought off those match points, and four more, before Pliskova finally clinched it on her seventh. The win was Pliskova’s second of the year over a Top 10 player—and let her compatriots on the WTA Tour know that Kvitova can be topped.

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