U.S. Open: Petra Kvitova’s win is match of the tournament

Just nine months after being attacked in her own home that left her hitting hand lacerated and with little hope of coming back to the tour, Petra Kvitova now finds herself in the quarters of the last grand slam against all odds and one of the favorites to win the tournament.

The kind of aggressive, fearless performance Kvitova put on in her fourth round match against the reigning Wimbledon champ, Garbiñe Muguruza, is probably what Maria Sharapova was hoping to do at this year’s U.S. Open. The Russian started out with motivation in her match against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, winning the first set 7-5, but then ultimately wilted in the next two sets, going out on Arthur Ashe on Sunday. It was the opposite in the women’s evening match, with the Czech player trailing the No. 3 seed Muguruza, 4-1.

But then something happened. The 12th- seeded Kvitova dug deep and put on a display of inspiring tennis, the kind of comeback that you root for. She utilized the same type of aggressive play that has been a foil for the great Serena Williams in the past, and she found her game, just in time for the last grand slam tournament of the year. Kvitova beat the sensational Spaniard—recent winner of Wimbledon and Cincinnati—in two sets, 7-6(3), 6-3.

But don’t feel sorry for Gabby. She could wind up the new world No. 1 by the end of the tournament, and deservedly so. The top spot will be hers if fourth-seed Elina Svitolina doesn’t make the semifinals and current No. 1 Karolina Pliskova doesn’t make the final. Considering that the 23 year-old Spanish player is the only one of the three to win a grand slam, and she’s played sensationally all summer, the promotion would be a nice consolation prize to losing to an inspiring Kvitova.

Gabby also had nothing but praise for her Czech opponent.

“Given all she’s been gone through, playing at this level is remarkable,” Muguruza said afterwards. “Pretty good performance from her,” she conceded.

Also singing her praises is her next opponent, Venus Williams, having her own miraculous comeback year as well.

“What she’s gone through is unimaginable, unreasonable,” Williams said about Kvitova, having won over Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Sunday. “The world we live in is just shocking. So for her, I think to be playing well is such a blessing. To be able to come out here and do what she needs to do, to clear her head, it’s such a beautiful thing to see.”

Williams is the oldest woman in the tournament she won consecutive titles at in 2000-2001. Many consider her third round match against the two-time Wimbledon champ Kvitova at that grand slam in 2014 one of the greatest.

Although the 27 year-old owns their head-to-head stats at 4-1, Venus is also playing at a much higher level this year, having made two grand slam finals, first in Australian and then Wimbledon.

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“It will be a great match for me to step on Arthur Ashe Stadium again—probably—and play there,” said Kvitova about her quarterfinal with the 37 year-old. “Venus has something special which the other players doesn’t have,” she said.

In the meantime, Petra Kvitova is savoring every moment, one glorious match at a time.

“I’m really enjoying it more than before,” she said after the match. “It was something really special for me.”

The quarterfinal between comeback queens Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams will take place on Tuesday, and is sure to be captivating.