It was a tough, but sweet first-round victory for Andrea Petkovic at the New Haven Open at Yale. After being out for most of the season, first with a back injury and then with an ankle injury, the German defeated Timea Babos 6-3 5-7 7-5, after leveling from 4-5 in the third set and then winning eight of the last nine points.
Between the back and the ankle injury, Petkovic played just one and a half matches, in Stuttgart, in April, but the latter injury she wanted to handle on her own, without a sports psychologist.
As a result of the absence, Petkovic’s ranking has fallen from No.10 in January to the current No.43, but she used her down time to catch up with friends and all the concerts she always wanted to go to.
Next for Petkovic at the New Haven Open is sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova. It will be their first meeting. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)
