Italian Open: Petra Kvitova wins first match since giving birth, Sonay Kartal reaches second round

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova won her first match since the birth of her first child, then said she had been close to quitting tennis.

The Czech claimed a 7-5 6-1 win over Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round of the Italian Open in Rome.

Her victory ended a run of four defeats since the 35-year-old returned to competitive action after 15 months away during which she gave birth to her son Petr.

Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014 and reached number two in the world, said she had doubted whether she would return to the international arena.

“I was 95% that I would never come back. I had enough of tennis at that time. I was like, ‘I can’t do it any more’ – so we decided to try for a baby,” she told the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) website.

“I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t 100%. When I could do something finally after pregnancy, I played some tennis and it felt so good. I was laughing. Every shot I hit smoothly, I was like, ‘Wow – it’s still there’.”

Kvitova will now play world number 36 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the second round of the tournament played on the clay courts of the Foro Italico.