Petra Kvitova Makes Triumphant Return With Opening Round Win At Roland Garros 2017

Petra Kvitova (click to enlarge)

Tears were flowing in the women’s locker room and the stands as Petra Kvitova, one of the most beloved players ever among her peers and fans, made a triumphant return to the tour with a 6-3 6-2 win over Julia Boserup in the first round of Roland Garros 2017. Forget about paying tennis. Keep in mind how close Petra came to losing her life when she had to fight off a knife wielding home intruder 6 months ago. A southpaw, Kvitova suffered severe damage to her left hand when she used it to block the attacker’s blade. There was talk that she might never play again or at best miss the entire 2017 season. To see Petra back this early, still unable to fully control all of the fingers on her dominant hand, and playing well enough to win put smiles on the faces of many in the tennis world. Sure, Boserup is 86th in the world, but there were some who feared Kvitova might be embarrassed after not only the physical layoff, but also carrying the emotional weight of the moment regardless of how low her opponent was ranked. I wouldn’t say Petra is a favorite to take the title here. In fact, despite her enormous talent she has only made it past the 4th round once at Roland Garros. But that’s not even the point, it’s just a wonderful day to see Petra, one of my current Mount Rushmore favorites (along with Madison Keys, Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep), out on court happy and healthy.