Australian wildcard stuns Petra Kvitova in Adelaide International upset

Joshua Mayne

•
Australian wildcard stuns Petra Kvitova in Adelaide International upset image

Priscilla Hon pulled off a remarkable upset against Petra Kvitova at the Adelaide International on Monday. 

The wildcard Australian claimed her first-ever victory over a Top 40 ranked player, when she beat her Czech counterpart 6-7(4) 7-5 6-2 in the first round of the competition.

Ranked 263 compared to Kvitova's 17, Hon came from a set and break down in her two-hour, 19-minute win. 

This result trumps her previous best performances at a WTA level, notably her two quarterfinal appearances at Seoul in 2017 and 2019.

Despite playing well early in the match, Hon's winning chances appeared minimal when Kvitova led the second set 4-2 after taking the first in a tiebreak.

Hon regained her composure, however, and made an impressive comeback before pulling away from her opponent in the deciding third set. 

She won 11 of the last 13 games to secure a mighty win.

Unforced errors were key to the Australian's victory, only making 21 errors compared to Kvitova's 47.

Hon's upset result was made even more memorable due to her recent return from a five-month absence due to a hip injury. 

Speaking to Stan Sport after the match, the 23-year-old explained that her mental approach was important.

"It doesn't feel real right now," Hon said.

"So happy, I can't explain how much ... I've been waiting for this moment.

"Pretty proud of how I held up at the end.

"Top players don't give it to you so you've got to work hard for it.

"My mindset was very different this time."

Hon will now face either Paula Badosa or two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the second round.

Fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanovic also fared well in the first round of the Adelaide International, defeating Heather Watson in straight sets.

Joshua Mayne

Joshua Mayne Photo

Joshua Mayne is a content producer for The Sporting News Australia based in Sydney, Australia. He has previously worked as a newsreader at 2SER and journalist at Ministry of Sport. While Joshua’s main passions are football, rugby league, basketball and F1, he will watch any sport that's on. He is still waiting for Arsenal to win the Premier League again.