After two years of endless misfortunes, the sun seems to have finally reappeared on Petkovic's street. Extremely popular with fans all over the world, the German saw her great plans put on hold when misery struck in early 2012. A back injury followed by a twisted ankle forced her to miss most of that season, while a knee problem sidelined her for a few months in 2013. An upbeat, positive person, Andrea refused to give in and worked hard on making a fast comeback. The first promising signs were seen last summer when the German reached two finals, in Nurenberg, respectively Washington DC. Although she lost those battles, she remained confident.
The start of the season was not extraordinary, as Petkovic struggled to find her form. After a series of disappointing results, the German caught fire on clay, in Charleston, where she went on to claim the biggest title of her career.
On the green clay in South Carolina, Andrea was a on a mission. In her first two matches she dropped just one game, double-bageling Spain's Lourdes Dominguez Lino before crushing compatriot Sabine Lisicki 6-1,6-0. Things got a bit more difficult as the tournament progressed, but her fighting spirit came to the rescue when it mattered most. After winning a triller against Czech Lucie Safarova, Petkovic came from behind to dismiss young sensation, Canadian darling Eugenie Bouchard, 1-6,6-3,7-5 to make the final act.
If last year she lost two finals, this time she was determined to make amends. Taking full advantage of an unexperienced opponent, Petkovic played smart in the key moments, fighting off a set point to eventually subdue Slovak Jana Cepelova. The success was so intense that she broke down in tears, tears of joy of course, immediately after closing out the victory.
"I don't know why but I just sort of broke down," Petkovic said afterwards. "I was happy. Normally I don't cry when I'm sad - I cry when I'm happy, strangely, so it's weird, but I don't know. I was just so relieved and proud that I've come back from all these injuries, and I never thought I would play in the finals of the big tournaments again, and so I was just proud and happy and everything just sort of came together."
The German has a special connection with Charleston—her father went to college and played tennis here—maybe that's what made the triumph even more emotional. "It's a little sad that he couldn't come this year, but I'm just very proud of him and everything he achieved," Petkovic said of her dad. "Coming from Yugoslavia, where it was communism back then, it wasn't easy to get out of it, and he just gave me all the chances that I took in my life, being educated in Germany, being the person I am today, and all the opportunities in tennis I wouldn't have without him and without him going to college here in the United States and learning the western way of living.
"It's funny how destiny plays out sometimes, how I've come to reach the final of such a big tournament here in South Carolina, where my father went to college. It's nice. It's an honor. It's a blessing."
It's so great to see this extremely fun girl back on the tennis court, winning and having fun. She's been through hell in recent years, but her positivity and love for the sport kept her going. Like Pennetta did in Indian Wells, this victory marks the full return to action of a fan favourite worldwide. #Letsdance the #Petkodance!
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| The feisty German rolled back the years in Charleston beating a slew of worthy opponents. Her fighting spirit came to the rescue against Lucie Safarova and Genie Bouchard, whom she beat in the quarterfinal, respectively the semi. In the final, Petkovic ended the dream run of Jana Cepelova. |
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| The sweet taste of success! After a few missed opportunities last year, Petkovic finally grabbed her third WTA crown in Charleston, a Premier event, that marks the most important triumph of her career. |
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