Tennis-Kvitova bids farewell to the place that turned her from a 'nobody to somebody'
LONDON (Reuters) -It has been 14 years, or 5,113 days to be precise, since a beaming Petra Kvitova saw her name being added in gold print to the famed green honours board at Wimbledon moments after she had held aloft the Venus Rosewater Dish for the first time.
Yet on Tuesday, after she signed off on her 17-year Wimbledon adventure with a first-round 6-3 6-1 defeat by American 10th seed Emma Navarro, the Czech wasted little time in giving a vivid blow-by-blow account of that magical fortnight.
"I do remember very clearly what happened out there. I do remember (the semis) with Vika (Victoria Azarenka) was three sets. It was always big battles to play with her," said the 35-year-old Kvitova, who gave birth to her son during last year's Wimbledon fortnight.
"To be honest, I don't know where the (6-3 6-4) performance came from in that final (against Maria Sharapova). I was very grateful that it came in the right moment, that I served it out for the match. That was something which I will never be able to describe because it was such a surprise.
"I do remember the happiness I had when I was holding the trophy. I do remember my English wasn't in a good place either, so I was more nervous for the press conferences than for the matches."
On Tuesday, she proved that her English had also come a long way as she charmed the Court One crowd with her farewell speech and even announced her own press conference to the world's media.
"I will miss Wimbledon, I will miss tennis, I will miss you fans but I am ready for the next chapter of life as well," the 2011 and 2014 champion told the crowd after receiving a standing ovation.
"I can't wait to be back as a member."
There really is no place like Wimbledon for Kvitova -- it is the only Grand Slam stage where she has won titles and it also where she got engaged to her coach, and now husband, Jiri Vanek in 2022.
"This place holds the best memories I could wish for. I never dreamed of winning Wimbledon and I did it twice so this is something very special," she added.
"I was lucky to have a beautiful court in my last match, which happened on the Court One, which I do have a lot of memories, as well. Even (as) I left, it was very, very special, emotional and happy place for me."
While the popular Czech can look forward to returning to her "happy place" for years to come without the pressure of being a player, few can forget the horrendous injury she suffered in her racket-holding left hand after being attacked with a knife during a break-in at her home in 2016.
With nerves severed, medical specialists gave her only a 10% chance of playing competitively again but five months later she was back on the WTA Tour.
While she never managed to recapture her Wimbledon glory days, failing to go beyond the last 16 in seven subsequent appearances, she did contest the 2019 Australian Open final.
After returning from a maternity break, she has won only one match, which made her decide that her body had had enough and that she would call it a day after this year's U.S. Open.
"The second (Wimbledon) title was the best. That was... satisfying, proving that I can play well and I'm a good player," she said.
"Wimbledon is the main thing (that) shaped me through my career. (I went from being a) nobody to somebody."
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Clare Fallon)
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