Andrea Petkovic convinces with strong performances at the French Open so far. At the location of her biggest Grand Slam coup so far, the Darmstadt-based woman continues her old successes. The “reward” in the match for the leap into the round of 16 on Saturday is industry leader Simona Halep.
Her aura as the winner is clearly perceptible. When Andrea Petkovic finally experiences these moments of deep happiness again these days on the great Grand Slam stage of Paris, it really gushes out of her only a short time later. After her second round victory of Roland Garros she was so free and revealed her exact place of residence in Darmstadt-Eberstadt in the Eurosport interview.
Typical Petko, who noticed her faux pas in a flash. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said my address on TV right now,” said the 30-year-old after her 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) defeat of Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and her first third round entry of a major since the US Open 2015.
The impact of their “blabber” at the best time on public holidays is still unknown, but the sporting consequences of their victory are not. The ultimate challenge awaits the eloquent Hessian as a “reward” on Saturday: a duel with the top seeded Simona Halep, the two-time French Open finalist and this year’s top favourite for the Bois de Boulogne title. Out of the seven comparisons with the Romanian, Petkovic emerged as the winner (2009).
But their mission is clear: “I want to go out there and try to win – and not be birdseed,” stressed the world rankings 107th, which seems to have found its way back to the ease that led them back to the semi-finals in Paris in 2014. The final stop was there…against Simona Halep (2:6, 6:7).
“I’ve played a lot of good matches against her, it was always close. That’s why I have to sit down, watch some videos and see if I can find a few tactical adjustments,” Petkovic said about her match preparation and said: “I fill up on self-confidence day after day. I hope the journey goes a little further.” She also wants to stick to her schedule against Halep: Play risky, even at the risk of making (double) mistakes. “But in the long run, it gives me more free points,” Petkovic emphasized, who, for example, puts herself far into the field during the return and intimidates her opponent with this presence.
The tenacity of the endurance runner Simona Halep should not be the decisive factor in the upcoming showdown. “I know that if the game goes four hours, it goes four hours. I did my homework – and I’ll be running until the next morning”, promised “Pferdelunge” Petkovic, who after two difficult years and the crash in the WTA ranking seems extremely tidy at the moment.
Recent experience has also played a mammoth role in the regained serenity. At the end of last year, Petkovic, who is currently reading the biography of former US President Barack Obama, travelled with the American music band “Tennis”. “I always found that there are many parallels to our job as tennis pros, especially in the concert tours of bands. Much is monotonous, routine, routine, routine. Then comes the performance, this high intensity moment – and everyone watches. That inspired me. I knew that could be the angle for my report,” she told in the exclusive tennisnet interview.
Her story – including Petkovic’s iconic Polaroid shots – was recently published on 18 pages (!!!!) in the New York “Racquet” cult magazine. She also writes for the magazine of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. She chooses a film – and establishes the connection to her life as a tennis pro, woman and critical zeitgeist. “Writing helped me to structure my thoughts better,” explains Petko: “It’s less confused in my head now, less of a horror show. It relaxes me.” Simona Halep should at least be warned…