Kvitova demolishes Dushevina to advance in Melbourne

Petra Kvitova

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – World number two Petra  Kvitova took a little bit of time to get warmed up in the  blistering Melbourne heat before demolishing Vera Dushevina 6-2  6-0 in just over an hour last night to advance to the second  round of the Australian Open.

Petra Kvitova

The Wimbledon champion, who is the pundits’ favourite for  the title at Melbourne Park, was broken in her first service  game by the 25-year-old Russian, but then won the next 12 games  in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius.

Dushevina had no answer to the tall Kvitova’s court  coverage, punishing groundstrokes and execution of shots from  nearly impossible angles. The Czech producing a highlight play  with one backhand return of serve that was taken late and from  outside the tram lines and blasted back across court, landing  just inside the service box and pinging away.

Kvitova, who helped the Czech Republic to the Hopman Cup in  Perth then made the Sydney International semi-finals before the  year’s first grand slam began, next plays either Spain’s Carla  Suarez Navarro or Romania’s Irina Begu.