Kvitova to handle pressure to reach Australian Open semi finals
Published:Petra Kvitova now has some serious pressure on her shoulders at the Australian Open, but she should have no problems overcoming any immediate concerns in her quarter-final clash with Sara Errani.
Kvitova is now the top seed left in the tournament after the exit of world number one Caroline Wozniacki to Kim Clijsters and also tops the Australian Open odds at 13/8 to win a second Grand Slam after the surprise exit of Serena Williams.
Overall victory will ensure that Kvitova will take over at the head of the WTA rankings and she can be backed at 1/12 to beat Errani and progress to the last four.
If Kvitova performs to her best, she will blow Errani out of the water and 4/9 will look great value in the handicap betting that the game is over in 19 games or fewer.
However, she has endured the odd blip when taking her foot of the pedal in recent rounds, notably when dropping a set to Carla Suarez Navarro in round two and then needing a tie break to eventually see off Ana Ivanovic in the last round.
Errani’s ability to keep the ball in play is her one major asset and she certainly has the capability of frustrating Kvitova and continually making her play that extra shot.
This quarter final is the furthest that the Italian has ever progressed to in a Grand Slam by two rounds and the women’s draw has already seen its fair share of upsets.
Her 6-2, 6-1 success over Jie Zheng in the last round is also proof that she can turn it on if required and given the opportunity to step onto the front foot.
It is 13/2 that Errani beats Kvitova and throws the draw wide open again.
