Australian Open 2019: Petra Kvitova books quarter-final with Ashleigh Barty

The 28-year-old is through after a crushing 6-2, 6-1 victory over Amanda Anisimov

Kvitova booked her place in the last eight (EPA)

Petra Kvitova hopes she has found the secret to winning matches at Grand Slam tournaments: not practising between matches, staying away from the tournament venue on your off days and getting in a nap half an hour before you go on court.

The formula worked for the 28-year-old Czech here at the Australian Open on Sunday as a crushing 6-2, 6-1 victory over Amanda Anisimova set up a quarter-final meeting with Ashleigh Barty, who was made to work much harder for her place in the last eight before beating Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Anisimova, who at 17 was the youngest player left in singles competition here, found herself outpowered and outplayed.

Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon champion and the winner of 25 singles titles, but the world No 6 was a bundle of nerves at Grand Slam tournaments last year. At Wimbledon, where she lost in the first round to Aliaksandra Sasnovich, she said she had been fighting with herself and joked that she might have to skip the four Grand Slam events this year.

What a difference there has been at the opening Grand Slam event of 2019, where Kvitova was so relaxed that she even had a quick nap in the physio room before going on court for her 11am start against Anisimova.

“It was weird to wake up at 10.30 to be ready in half an hour for my match, but sometimes it's really important,” Kvitova said afterwards. “Since I'm playing so many matches, I just need to rest. Every nap, it's very welcoming.”

Jiri Vanek, Kvitova’s coach, believes her busy start to the year has helped here. She arrived in Melbourne fresh from her victory at the previous week’s Sydney International, where she recovered from a set down to beat Barty in the final.

“She probably got some confidence from Sydney,” Vanek said. “We didn't spend too much time here on the courts. We only hit once, for 20 minutes, before her first match. I just told her: ‘Keep thinking like you're still in Sydney and just playing more matches there.’ That probably helps her a little bit.”

Vanek said that in the past Kvitova had always put too much pressure on herself, especially at the start of a tournament, and usually needed to play a few rounds before she steadied herself.

"Everything happened so quickly here after we came from Sydney that she probably didn’t have too much time to think about that stuff,” Vanek said. “We decided not to practise between matches at all. She just stays in her room or goes to visit the city. She doesn’t come here for the tournament to see any other players.”

Kvitova agreed that Sydney had done much for her confidence. “I'm serving pretty well and I'm moving well,” she said. “Sometimes when I'm nervous, I'm quite tight and nothing really works, but this time I feel good.”

Looking lean and athletic, Kvitova said she had been working on her fitness. “I think it's a long-time process when you are trying to get fitter and fitter,” she said.” When you are fitter, then you want to be fitter again.”

To the delight of the home fans in Rod Laver Arena, Barty is through to her first Grand Slam quarter-final. Sharapova took the first set with a single break of serve in the ninth game before Barty took command of the second set to level the match.

The crowd were understandably behind Barty and turned against Sharapova after she took an eight-minute toilet break between the second and third sets. The Russian was booed when she came back on court and the crowd cheered when she was given a time violation for taking too long between points.

Anisimova was no match for Kvitova (EPA)

At the start of the decider Sharapova’s game appeared to fall apart. She hit two double faults in dropping the opening game to love and two more two games later as Barty went 3-0 up. Sharapova, who continues to be troubled by shoulder problems, finally ended a run of nine successive lost games and reduced the arrears to 5-4, but Barty went on to convert her fourth match point with an ace.

Barty usually keeps her emotions in control on court, but the 22-year-old Australian jumped for joy and smashed a ball into the sky in celebration at her victory.

“The atmosphere was really unbelievable,” she said afterwards. “That first match point, my ears were ringing. I think I missed a couple of serves by a few millimetres and went for the wrong serve on a second serve on match point, but I was really happy to close it out in the end.”

There was a less enjoyable end to the match for the umpire, Alison Hughes, when Spider Cam, the video camera which hovers above the court guided by cables, crashed into the sun shield above her chair. She was unhurt.

Barty is through after beating Sharapova (EPA)

When Sharapova asked afterwards what she had made of the crowd’s attitude towards her she simply said it was “a silly question to ask”. Barty had no complaints about her opponent’s long toilet break. “She’s within the rules,” the Australian said. “I think she just went to the locker room as opposed to the one that was close to the court. There was nothing I could do.”

Sharapova also refused to answer when asked whether she had found it difficult to cope physically since meldonium, the drug which she had taken legally for many years, had been banned. The Russian served a 15-month suspension after failing a test for the drug here three years ago.

Although she has made only one Grand Slam quarter-final since returning from her suspension, Sharapova believes she can still win major titles. “I think it would be tough for me to be doing all the work and putting in all the effort if I didn't really believe that,” she said.

Angelique Kerber, the Wimbledon champion, was beaten 6-0, 6-2 by the world No 35, Danielle Collins, a 25-year-old American who climbed 131 places in the rankings last year. Collins will now face the winner of Sunday’s concluding fourth-round match between Sloane Stephens and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

“It was completely not my day,” Kerber said afterwards. “I was not playing the tennis that I can play.She played really well. I think she played one of her best matches. She hit every ball in the court. She moves well.”

Angelique Kerber, the Wimbledon champion, was beaten 6-0, 6-2 by the world No 35, Danielle Collins, a 25-year-old American who climbed 131 places in the rankings last year. Collins will now face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat Sloane Stephens 6-7, 6-3, 6-3.