Varvara Gracheva sent a heartwarming message to Petra Kvitova after their match (Image: Sky Sports)
Varvara Gracheva showed her class after beating Petra Kvitova in the first round of Indian Wells. Two-time champion Kvitova recently returned to competition following a 17-month pregnancy break but she has yet to win a match.
Gracheva recovered after losing the first set to spoil the Czech star’s comeback party, winning 4-6 6-3 6-4. Afterwards, the world No. 70 used her on-court interview as an opportunity to send a touching message to new mum Kvitova.
The former world No. 2 returned to competition at last week’s ATX Open in Austin, losing her opening match to Jodie Burrage after taking the first set. It was a similar story in Indian Wells, where Kvitova took the lead against Gracheva before losing in three.
It was revenge for the French tennis player, who lost to Kvitova at the Miami Open two years ago. Gracheva forced a decider after losing the opening set and raced into a 3-1 lead before the two-time winner flipped the script and broke back to lead 4-3.
But Gracheva wasn’t deterred by the brief switch in momentum and she broke again before serving out her first victory against Kvitova. Afterwards, the world No. 70 said she wanted to take a “step back” and pay tribute to her opponent.
“Well I am very happy to play Petra and honestly, if you let me to step back a bit, I really want to congtulate her because she had a child quite recently,” the 24-year-old started.
Petra Kvitova has yet to win a match since returning from a 17-month pregnancy break (Image: Getty)
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“And I’m so happy that she now has the role of a mother and a tennis player which is very, very demanding and it’s very inspiring for sports, athletes, women.
“It’s just amazing. Petra, my admiration to you. You’re the best.”
In the second match of her comeback, Kvitova fired down a staggering 55 unforced errors to just 24 from Gracheva. The Czech star was going for her shots – she also made 27 winners while her opponent hit just 13.
The former world No. 2 also has a wildcard into the upcoming Miami Open – the second tournament of the ‘sunshine double’. Kvitova has not competed in Miami since lifting the trophy there in 2023.
By beating Kvitova, Gracheva has set up a meeting with the tour’s latest champion, Mirra Andreeva.
The 17-year-old will be competing for the first time since she , becoming the youngest WTA 1000 champion in history.
As the ninth seed in Indian Wells, Andreeva received a bye directly into the second round. The teenager beat Gracheva in their only previous meeting at last year’s French Open but she has never won a match in Indian Wells.