Kvitova summons crucial point wins in just the right times, beats Babos to progress at Eastbourne

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Wilson Blade 9

Petra Kvitova made the third round of the Aegon International Eastbourne, but it was far from smooth sailing for the fifth seed, as only a good timing of certain points helped her get the upper hand over Timea Babos in their second-round match.

Petra Kvitova

The first set went with serve all the way until the crucial ninth game, in which Kvitova quickly turned the match on her side, converting the one and only break point she earned in the set. Up until 4-3 for Babos, the Hungarian was way more consistent, having lost just three points in her service games, none on first serve, while Kvitova lost ten. However, Kvitova produced her most solid hold of serve to level to 4-4 and in the following game quickly made use of an opportunity to break Babos’ serve, sneaking away with the set, 6-4. Babos used none of her four break points.

Timea Babos

Disappointed by the way the first set played out, Babos dropped serve at the very beginning of the second set, losing four consecutive points, the fourth one being a double fault. However, the world No.45 earned a break back in the next game and got things back on serve. At 4-3, Babos had a crucial chance to break Kvitova and get an opportunity to serve for the set, but the Czech didn’t allow that to happen and as the set progressed it turned out that the first two games were the only breaks of the set. The outcome of the match was decided in the tiebreak. Final score: 6-4 7-6(5) for Kvitova.

Our photographer Jimmie48 is bring us fresh daily coverage from Eastbourne this week. In case you missed it, check out his Monday’s WTA gallery.

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