Petra breaks the spell with first victory as a mother

Petra Kvitova ended a run of five consecutive four first-round defeats on Tuesday,earning her first WTA win since becoming a mother with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Irina-Camelia Begu at the Rome Masters.

The two-time Australian Open winner, 35, only returned to the Tour in Austin, late February, and had yet to taste any success.

But the Czech broke the spell on the clay of the Foro Italico to set up a second-round test against Ons Jabeur.

She brought a 6-1 record into the match with her Romanian opponent, winning eight of nine games in one stretch to close out victory.

“It’s kind of weird that my first win came here in Rome but finally I did it,” Kvitova said. 

“It’s not that easy coming after such a break and at this age as well, I’m not as fit as I would like so I gotta keep working hard.”

She added: “I don’t have a particular goal for my comeback. I came back because I love the sport even though I thought it was not possible at the beginning. 

“Of course you have to train everyday, travel a lot and I don’t really like it, but I love the sport after all and I’m happy to be here.”