Petra Kvitova Says It’s Normal For Her To Get Sick In The U.S.

Petra Kvitova has enjoyed success at Wimbledon, winning twice, and reaching the semifinals at the French and the Australian Opens. But the Czech has never had similar success at the US Open where she’s only made the quarterfinals once, that being last year.

And part of the problem, she says, is she gets sick a lot in the U.S. And she’s sick again!

“I got sick in Rio when I was staying there for a few days,” Kvitova said yesterday. “I was still sick in New Haven, which is wasn’t really nice, but I was happy I was playing during the night most of the time.

“So it helped me a bit, tough to breathe. I still have a little bit cold, but it’s getting better. Air conditioning never really helps, of course. But it’s the U.S.; always getting sick here. So, for me, just normal routine.”

Kvitova will now take on New Haven finalist Elina Svitolina and could meet Angelique Kerber down the road. And due to traffic, she now says she only practices on match days at the US Open.

“For me it’s really exhausted to still be in the car and it’s a lot of people here,” she said. “You just practice like 45 minutes. I didn’t need anymore anyway.

“When I feeling okay in the match court it’s fine, and I don’t really need the practice like that. I played good in New Haven as well, so I do have matches, and I don’t really have practice. So, yeah, that’s my new tradition. And some coffees, as well. Some shopping. And so that’s really enjoying time for me. I’m starting to love New York.”

The 14th seeded Kvitova is playing her 9th US Open. And since it’s her day off today, she won’t be practicing!