The two-time Wimbledon champion was only given a wild card nod in the final minutes of the tournament as he was still recovering from last week’s sore throat. During the first games in Ostrava, it was said that he would occasionally grunt like a locomotive.

And then came her last 16 clash with Spain’s Paula Badosa, the world number four famous for bringing the impossible back to court. And he showed that on Wednesday night against Kvitová.

The Czech’s great aggressive play is often of little value, as the eight years her junior defends herself in exemplary fashion. The first set was decided only by shortened play, in the second Kvitová only used the seventh match point.

When the moderator asked the winner on the course how tired he is currently on a scale of one to ten, he answered unequivocally: “Twenty.”

His performance, when he stood even in a long exchange from the baseline, was also appreciated by the Spanish media.

“What a match. The Czech was one step ahead throughout and deservedly progressed at home,” Eurosport Spain wrote, for example, in online comments. Server tennis.com called the match a tennis thriller.

Kvitova is a player who dictates play, she scored 42 winning balls, but she really struggled.

“Every match was very close. She returned everything, so I had to serve very well to have a chance to hold serve. It was a very difficult match not only physically, but also mentally,” said the Fulnek native.

In Ostrava, the Spaniard racked up points in the rankings for qualifying for the Tournament of Champions. Even Kvitová still has a chance to fight her way to a prestigious event to compete for the eight best women’s tennis players, but more on a theoretical level. His winning streak should continue throughout October. He is currently the sixteenth best player of the season.

But now she is mainly thinking about the next opponent she will face in contention for the semifinals, this year’s Wimbledon winner Jelena Rybakinová of Kazakhstan.