Sorry about beating Li, but that's how it goes
Updated: 2013-10-06 07:08
(China Daily)
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Hello everybody in China. I am Petra Kvitova, the world No 7 player from Czech Republic.
It's great to be back in China and keep my fans posted again on this player's blog.
I knew I might break the hearts of Chinese fans after beating local favorite Li Na in the quarters at the China Open (4-6, 6-2, 6-4). But it was tennis and I just did better on some crucial points this time.
I think her new coach, Carlos Rodriguez, has helped her a lot. She is trying to improve everything about her game. I don't feel she is a sharply different player but definitely she is trying to play more aggressively. She is a great player and I like her. We are good friends off the court and we talk a lot in the locker room.
In all, I am satisfied with my performance so far in Asia. It's my 24th tournament this year, which I can't believe, and I felt a little bit tired after winning in Tokyo. But I think I need to play more matches as I am trying to improve my fitness by pushing myself to the limit. As a professional tennis player, it's normal to end a tournament and then start to play another the next day.
To improve my fitness and agility on court, I decided to work with my new fitness coach, Marek Vseticek, after Wimbledon and he has pushed me to do more exercise.
Marek's routine features more fitness than I am used to. On a typical day, under his guidance, soon after waking up I take a 20-minute run before having breakfast and then head to the court for skill practice for about two hours before hitting the gym for fitness work. After lunch, I will repeat the workout routine and then have a massage to relax my muscles before dinner.
The routine seems to have worked well so far as I still feel fresh this deep into the season.
Since hiring Marek, who is also working with my boyfriend, Radek Stepanek, many people have been saying, "Oh, you picked Marek because you want to have more time together with Radek".
Not really. Actually, we haven't seen each other for a long time as we are traveling a lot and playing different tournaments. We also haven't been able to practice together. Marek keeps flying between us. Hopefully, Radek and I can play more combined tournaments together, which would make Marek more than happy.
This season I am still trying to stay consistent after experiencing some ups and downs over the past two years. It's hard to stay focused after a breakthrough year like 2011 for me when I won six tournaments including Wimbledon and finished No 2 in the world.
(China Daily 10/06/2013 page12)