Petra Kvitova stormed into the second round at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory in just 68 minutes over compatriot and friend Lucie Safarova. The victory means she will next play Jelena Ostapenko, who beat her in Doha in February.

It was the two-time Wimbledon champion’s first match of the grass-court season, but she showed no signs of rustiness as she secured her first-ever win at the Edgbaston Priory Club. Kvitova earned an early break by forcing an error to take it to 30-40 and then powering a forehand winner past a stranded Safarova to take the game. She hit a few wild shots in her next service game, but she eventually composed herself to establish a 3-0 lead. The rest of the set went with serve, and Kvitova was halfway to victory without ever looking troubled.

She said later, ‘I think I started pretty well and served very well, and I don’t think Lucie returned that well. It was just about the serve today. Then, the second set seemed closer, so I was just happy that I broke her serve and gained the mental advantage.’

Although the scoreline doesn’t show it, the second set was more competitive with slightly longer rallies. (The longest of the match was only just over 10 shots). The difference between the two players was that Kvitova always stepped up her level at crucial moments. This was particularly true in the third game of the second set, when Safarova twice had game point, only for Kvitova to pin her to the back of the court and force her into errors. This persistence paid off, and the world No. 11 got the break she wanted.

Kvitova got a second break in the set when a miscued forehand proved unplayable for Safarova and gave her two break points, and then she outlasted her opponent in the longest rally of the match. At that point, it looked as though the match would be over in under an hour. But Safarova dug deep when she faced match point at 1-5, and her determination extended the match for another 10 minutes. Kvitova’s victory was nevertheless inevitable, and after a lengthy final service game when she saved a break point with an ace and failed to convert two match points, she finally sealed it on her fourth match point when Safarova netted a forehand.

Kvitova was understandably happy with how she started the grass season. She said, ‘I practiced three or four times on the grass here, and I practiced twice indoors before today's match. I think with the timing everything was fine.’ She also clearly had the mental advantage over an opponent whom she has now beaten in all nine of their meetings on the WTA Tour. Kvitova said, ‘It's tough coming to play some opponents when you know that you lost eight times before. Definitely, I think it was an advantage for me.’

Kvitova decided to play in Birmingham for the first time since 2008 after her premature third-round exit in Paris, and, if she can maintain the form she showed, she could plausibly take home the trophy at the end of the week, which will make her even more confident than usual going into Wimbledon. She said, ‘I definitely want to play more matches because sometimes I lost in the first or second round (at Eastbourne). I think the best practice is to play more matches, and a few matches will make me feel more confident. If I lose in the second round here and the first round at Eastbourne, I don't think I will be that happy.’

It would take a brave individual to bet against Kvitova at Wimbledon either because she is so well-suited to playing on grass and is arguably the equal of Serena on the surface when she is at her best. She said, ‘I wish the grass season was longer, but that's how it is. I love to play on the grass, especially at Wimbledon. I have great memories there. The fast conditions on grass really suit my style.’ One thing is certain:  no player in the draw will relish facing Kvitova on the lawns of Birmingham this week.