World No. 3 Petra Kvitova has been training in Turkey for the past two weeks after battling illnesses for nearly two months. The 2011 Wimbledon champion caught a virus in February, then a mild case of stomach flu at Indian Wells, then suffered from a minor bout of asthma in Miami. She will play for the Czech Republic in Fed Cup next week against Italy in Ostrava, and then will play clay court tournaments at Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros.
"I need to improve my fitness part a lot," Kvitova said. "I have a lot of space to improve every part of my fitness and after illness in February, I needed to take this step. I am trying to get faster and stronger. We are running a lot in the sand, long distance too, doing some hill running and also we spend a lot of time in gym. I am exhausted every evening, but hopefully it's worth it."
Kvitova added that she has had a small problem with her stomach muscle, but that it is nothing serious and she can still preform her most important exercises. "I feel tired right now but I hope that my fitness will show in the upcoming tournaments. If I want to win good matches and the close matches with the best players, I have to be fit. The matches can be decided by very small things and one of these is fitness. I need to reach more balls and be able to play longer matches to stay at the top of the sport."