User:Avatar5991/The Cetkovská Curse
The Cetkovská Curse is a term used to describe Polish tennis player Agnieszka Radwańska's current 0–4 record against Czech player Petra Cetkovská. It is one of the most unusual dominances of a former World No. 2 in tennis history.[1]
Matches
[edit]2011 Wimbledon Championships Second Round
[edit]Petra Cetkovská and Agnieszka Radwańska first met at Wimbledon in 2011. Radwańska was the thirteenth seed and had previously made the quarter-finals at the tournament twice, in 2008 and 2009, whilst Cetkovská had previously lost in the first round in those same two years and had not played a Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon in 2009 following two years of injury which saw her ranking slip to World No. 149. After Radwańska took the first set, she looked set for an easy victory until she was forced into a tiebreak by the Czech. Cetkovská won the tie-break 7–6 (7–5) to take the match into a third set. Cetkovská then fell behind 1–4 in the final set but then won the next five games without reply to complete a stunning 3–6, 7–6 (7–5), 6–4 victory and move on to the third round.
Cetkovská would then advance to the fourth round, defeating 18th-seed Ana Ivanovic before losing to wildcard entrant Sabine Lisicki in the Round of 16.
As of 2012, it remains Radwańska's earliest ever exit at Wimbledon, having never previously lost before the fourth round at the tournament, whilst Cetkovská's effort in getting to the Round of 16 remains her best performance at Wimbledon and her equal-best performance at any Grand Slam tournament.
Match Report:
2011 New Haven Open Second Round
[edit]
Almost two months later, at the 2011 New Haven Open at Yale, Cetkovská repeated the dose on the Pole, again winning in three sets, 6–4, 5–7, 6–3. Cetkovská entered the match having reduced her ranking by 41 places, being at World No. 40 whilst Radwańska remained at World No. 13. Cetkovská had to qualify to enter the main draw due to her low ranking. The victory marked Cetkovská's 40th match victory of 2011 and it was her second straight victory against the Pole, having already defeated her in the aforementioned match at Wimbledon.
Cetkovská went on to make the final, defeating fourth seed Marion Bartoli and second seed Li Na along the way, before losing to Caroline Wozniacki in the championship match. Cetkovská was the only qualifier to ever advance to the final of a Premier tournament in 2011. At the 2011 US Open, Cetkovská advanced to the second round but she was forced to withdraw before her scheduled match against Ana Ivanovic due to injury. Radwańska meanwhile was stunned in the second round by then-World No. 92, Angelique Kerber, who went on to make the semi-finals.
Match Report:
2012 Rome Masters Second Round
[edit]Their next (and most recent) meeting was at the 2012 Rome Masters. Cetkovská entered the match having cracked the Top 25 for the first time in her career whilst Radwańska was enjoying a then-career high ranking of World No. 3. Prior to the match, the only player that had beaten the Pole in 2012 was the dominant World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. Radwańska came into the match as a heavy favourite based on her ranking, but again it was Cetkovská who prevailed, and again it was in three sets: 6–, 4–6, 6–1. This brought her record against Radwańska to 4–0, three of those wins coming in the last twelve months alone. She thus became the first player other than Azarenka to defeat Radwańska in 2012.
Cetkovská's win did not last for long, as she was then beaten 0–6, 1–6 by Flavia Pennetta, having saved several match points at 0–6, 0–5 down and thus avoiding her first double-bagel since 2008 (on that occasion, she was defeated by the eventual 2008 French Open champion, Ana Ivanovic).
Match Report: