French Open: Even in unlikely women’s semi-finals, Petra Kvitova’s run is a pleasant surprise

The two women’s semi-final matches almost accurately describe the chaotic nature of the draw at the autumnal French Open 2020.

Unlikely and unseeded semi-finalists Iga Swiatek, who stunned top seed Simona Halep, and Nadia Podoroska, the first qualifier to reach the last four at Roland Garros will play first on Thursday. But as surprising as this matchup is, the second seems just as odd, for a different reason.

The meeting between Grand Slam winners Sofia Kenin and Petra Kvitova will only be the fourth match between seeded women’s players at this French Open. The fourth-seeded American is the highest remaining in the draw and playing her first semi-final on the Parisian clay while the seventh-seeded Czech is back after eight years.

French Open: Swiatek, Podorska eye first final; seeded duo Kenin, Kvitova clash in other semi-final

But while Kenin is in her breakthrough season after winning the Australian Open earlier in the year, it is Kvitova’s first French Open semi-final since 2012 that has been one of the more intriguing stories of this topsy-turvy year’s final Grand Slam. It seems both unlikely and overdue given her recent run at Majors.

This is her first semi-final at any Grand Slam since her run to the final of the 2019 Australian Open (where she lost to Naomi Osaka) and only the sixth semi-final of her career. (She has also lost six quarter-finals)

The 30-year-old is one of the more consistent top 10 players on the WTA tour and has two Majors (2011 and 2014 Wimbledon) to her name but somehow her performance on tour has not always translated well at the four Slams. It’s also why she tends to fly under the radar and not counted among favourites despite a top-10 seeding.

This is in part due to the horrific injury she suffered in late 2016 when she fought off a knife-wielding burglar at her home in December 2016. It took a superhuman effort to return to tennis six months later after not being able to even move her badly-injured fingers in the aftermath.

It was at Roland Garros that she made her emotional comeback in 2017, which is why it holds a special place in her heart. From a pure performance perspective, Paris has been her worst Major with just one run beyond the fourth round before this year. Her best run came when she lost to eventual champion Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals in 2012.

“Happy memories, when I made my comeback here 2017, when I step on the Philippe Chatrier, I couldn’t really imagine me to be in the quarter-final of this Slam. Everything just came back to me. When I’m talking, I’m getting emotional again. It’s been a long ride definitely,” she said on her visibly emotional reaction ahead of the match point in her fourth-round win over Zhang Shuai.

More telling was her assessment of her skill on the surface. “After eight years to be in the quarter-final again, it’s great. I’m really happy for that, that I’m still able to play on all surfaces. I think I wasn’t really the player who ever succeeded on the clay. At that time was such a great thing for me to be in the semi-finals. I’ve been playing really good. I think it’s been a miracle for me to make the semi-final here in Roland Garros,” Kvitova said.

Even though her only Majors have been on grass, it would be odd to say the 30-year-old is not a good player on clay. If seen through the prism of Paris, she isn’t but five of her 27 career title have come on clay including three Premier Mandatory trophies at Madrid. In fact, three of her past five triumphs have come on clay including the most recent at Stuttgart last year. Her clay and hard court win percentage is similar at this stage.

However, at 30 years of age after missing last year’s event with injury, she is back with a very good chance to reach her first final. She is yet to drop a set in her five matches so far, none of which have gone to the tiebreak. The conditions don’t always suite her quick style of play but she has been able to hit her way so far, with all neat angles and lines on her groundstrokes and solid serving and the occasional attrition as needed. Against a player like Kenin, who has the game to return with interest all strokes on this surface, Kvitova will face her toughest test.

Will her experience count as she looks for the elusive Major final on clay? Even if it doesn’t, at her ‘lucky place’, Kvitova reaching the semi-final after eight years will go down as one of the more pleasant surprises of this French Open.