"Ostapenko Kvitova should be a circus act" - Tennis fans react after Petra Kvitova and Jelena Ostapenko exchange bagels in Indian Wells

Petra Kvitova advanced to the Round of 16 at Indian Wells on Sunday by beating Jelena Ostapenko 0-6, 6-0, 6-4.

The talking point of the match was the two players exchanging bagels in the first two sets. Having failed to win a single game in the opening set, the Czech found her best tennis over the course of the next 40 minutes to reel off 10 straight games, before Ostapenko mounted a comeback.

Kvitova, however, was determined to close out a win — which she did after breaking her opponent at 4-4 in the decider.

Gung-ho tennis fans flooded social media to share their views on the unusual scoreline. Taking to Twitter, one fan opined that the Ostapenko-Kvitova match was a 'circus act.'

"Ostapenko/Kvitova should be a circus act, this match is all over the place," they wrote.

Another fan said such matches were the reason why they love the WTA.

"WTA I've never loved you more, tiebreak in third amen," another fan opined.

One user stated that the scoreline was "insane."

"Stop that Petra-Penko scoreline is insane," the fan wrote.

Here are some of the other fan reactions:

---

Petra Kvitova to face Jessica Pegula next at Indian Wells

Petra Kvitova exults after winning a point at the BNP Paribas Open. (PC: Getty Images)

Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, will face Jessica Pegula in the fourth round of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Kvitova leads Pegula in the head-to-head 3-1. The Czech won the duo's latest meeting too, beating her opponent as recently as this year's United Cup.

Indian Wells has historically not been a happy hunting ground for Petra Kvitova, who rarely gets anything out of the slow, high-bouncing courts and heavy conditions. But she has generated enough firepower off the ground to outplay her opponents in her three matches so far this year, which augers well for her.

Kvitova said on Saturday she was happy with the conditions on offer even though the courts were slow, and that she liked how the weather was a bit cloudy. The two-time Wimbledon champion also spoke about the balls used on site, claiming that they were becoming too heavy too soon.

"I liked it," she said. "In the end I know it was a little bit cloudy, which is better than sunny from the one side. When you are serving it's a bit tough as well sometimes. But otherwise the conditions were pretty similar what we had in the days before when we practiced."

"The balls are getting dead pretty quickly when they are very new," she added. "They are flying. But then after few games, it's really heavy and not really flying anymore. It's a bit tougher even for my game, as well. The surface is pretty slow as well. It's not really suiting my game, but, I mean, it's every time here."

With both Jessica Pegula and Petra Kvitova coming through similar dramatic wins at Indian Wells, the fourth-round contest promises to go down to the wire.