Life would be boring without pressure – Kvitova

EASTBOURNE – Pressure? No problem, says Petra Kvitova as she prepares to defend her Wimbledon title next week.

‘The pressure is there and it’s normal, but without pressure it would be boring,’ the Czech world number four told Reuters.’The expectation is big, but I’m glad that my team and me are not really thinking about the pressure too much.’After becoming only the fourth female left-hander to win a grand slam in the professional era, life changed for the shy Kvitova, in good ways and bad.Her results for the rest of 2011 veered from the excellent – winning the end-of-season WTA Championships and leading her team to Fed Cup victory – to the disappointing, such as a first-round loss at the US Open when she hit 52 unforced errors against unseeded Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru.’After Wimbledon, I didn’t have good matches and good results. But I think that it’s normal because it’s the first time and everything is new and it’s a new experience,’ said Kvitova, 21.’Life changed too, I had a lot of media stuff to do and sponsors, and people recognised me everywhere so it’s not easy. But anyway it’s the good part of our tennis life.’Sitting in the sunshine at the seaside resort of Eastbourne, where she finished runner-up to Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in the week before Wimbledon last year, Kvitova reflected on her best memory from the All-England Club.’I think that it’s the last point, the ace, and then when I had the trophy in my hand, I think that is forever in my mind,’ she said, recalling her 6-3 6-4 victory over Russian Maria Sharapova in last year’s final.’I am so honoured to return to Wimbledon as defending champion and I am looking forward to the match when I step on to the Centre Court again.’I think that I will have goosebumps again when I go through the gates for the first time.’After reaching the semi-finals on clay at the French Open two weeks ago, when Sharapova took revenge before going on to win the title, Kvitova had to rush to get match-fit on her favourite surface.She expects Sharapova, who reclaimed the world number one ranking with her Roland Garros victory, to be the favourite next week and is delighted at having a bonus event at her beloved Wimbledon this year – the London Olympic tournament taking place there in July and August. – Nampa-Reuters

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