Wimbledon 2016: Petra Kvitova explains why you can't beat a fortnight at SW19

Two-time champion is taking part in her ninth Wimbledon campaign

Petra Kvitova won the laides' singles at Wimbledon in both 2011 and 2014 (GETTY IMAGES)

Petra Kvitova, the two-times Wimbledon champion, explains why this is her favourite Grand Slam tournament

ACCOMMODATION – A CHANCE TO NOT STAY IN A HOTEL

“For me I think the biggest difference with the other Grand Slams is that at Wimbledon you stay in a house, pretty near to the venue, rather than in a hotel. I really enjoy staying in Wimbledon village.

“At the other Grand Slams of course you can choose to stay in an apartment rather than a hotel, but it never feels the same. Even at the US Open, Manhattan is so far away from the venue. You can stay closer to the venue at the French Open, but it’s just not the same.

“I like staying privately. You can stay in one place with your team, you can cook, you can save your energy that you might be using by going for dinner. You have everything there that you need. It’s just perfect.

“I like to go into Wimbledon village for a coffee. It’s a good way of relaxing. That’s one of the reasons why I like to stay near the village - so that I can easily go somewhere for a coffee.

“I don’t usually walk when I’m travelling to or from the tennis. We usually get a car. I can walk in the morning if I’m going on-site. But on the way back I’ll normally get the car.

“My racket stringer did most of the cooking last year. He’s sometimes done it in other years as well. I’m not a good cook, but I do the washing-up!”

PEACE AND QUIET ON MIDDLE SUNDAY

“Having no play on the middle Sunday makes it different to the other Grand Slams, for sure. I don’t think it’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s just how it is and everybody accepts it. Actually for me I think it’s nice for everything to be so quiet and relaxed in the middle of a Grand Slam. I certainly don’t feel that at the other Grand Slams.

“Normally if I was going to practise at Aorangi on any other day I would go through the tunnel, but on the middle Sunday I won’t, I’ll go outside.”

WALKING TO THE OUTSIDE COURTS – AND PUSHING THROUGH THE CROWDS

“At the French Open you always get the feeling there are many, many people because it’s a smaller site. At Wimbledon I can remember going to Court No 2 and you have to go outside, through the crowds. Of course the bodyguards do a great job. But it certainly feels like it’s packed. You obviously don’t feel that on Centre Court or Court One. You can get to them without having to go outside through the crowds.”

THE MATCH COURTS

Petra Kvitova beat Eugenie Bouchard in under an hour in the final two years ago (Getty)

“You usually get a good view of the ball at Wimbledon. It’s good that there are no advertising signs on the backdrops. Sometimes if you have a backdrop with a white sign on it, the ball can be totally lost, even when the sun is out and it’s totally bright. But at Wimbledon it’s perfect.

“At some other Grand Slam tournaments it can be a little bit of a struggle for me to see the ball at first, though when you play you get used to it from the beginning of the match.

“For me the court surfaces all feel very similar. I’ve never really noticed any difference. At the end of the tournament you notice a difference because of all the matches that have been played on the courts.”

THE PRACTICE COURTS

“All the practice courts at Aorangi Park are very good. There’s never a problem with the surface. You can book any of the practice courts and during the tournament you can sometimes practise on the match courts if Aorangi is full. I always prefer to play on the practice courts to the side because you don’t often get balls coming over from the other courts.”

MUSIC-FREE MATCHES

“At the other Grand Slam tournaments they sometimes play music during the changeovers. Whether I like that or not depends on the music and what my mood is. If I like the music and I’m feeling good it’s OK. I think what I find distracting is the commercials that they sometimes put on the big screens at other tournaments. But the music is fine. It’s the video and the talking and everything else that I find weird.”

THE WIMBLEDON CROWD – FAIR AND RESPECTFUL

“I like the fact that Wimbledon crowds are very respectful and don’t shout out during points. Even before a point they are very good. From the time you take the ball before you serve and when you’re bouncing the ball, it’s perfect, very quiet. The Wimbledon crowds are also very fair. Of course they have their favourite players but they are still very fair to everyone.”

LOCKER ROOMS

“They’re the best of all the Grand Slam tournaments. The upstairs locker room is for the seeds and the members, but the downstairs one was great as well. I think the upper one has more space and it’s quiet.

“I usually head for the same place in the locker room. I don’t necessarily go for the same locker but it’s in the same kind of place. What would I do if someone was sitting in ‘my’ place when I got there? I suppose I’d just have to make sure I got there a bit earlier.

“The showers are very good. There is a lot of power in the water. It’s perfect. In the seeded locker room there are also baths, which is good. I don’t think you have them at the other Grand Slams. They also put in beautiful new ice baths, which I used last year. They were great.

“How do the locker rooms compare with elsewhere? At the US Open they’re big. At the Australian Open and French Open they’re OK, but they’re not as good as at Wimbledon.”

PLAYERS’ LOUNGE

“Sometimes the lounge can get very full, especially in the first week. It can make you feel a bit stressed at times, especially when it’s raining. If it’s not raining at least you can go outside.

“I think the food could be better. Sorry! It’s better than it was, but I still think they could get better. I always have gluten-free pasta, usually with chicken. I like the smoothies and the strawberries and cream. Wimbledon definitely does the best strawberries.”

GYMNASIUM

“There’s one at Aorangi and one at the main site. I think the main one, at Centre Court, could be a bit bigger. If there are a lot of players using it it can be a little bit small. But otherwise it’s fine.”