Czech Republic's two-time Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova kicked off her campaign at the ongoing WTA 2016 Wuhan Open with a strong start after demolishing tennis rising star Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on Monday at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center in Hubei, China.

The 26-year-old left-handed (two-handed backhand) native of Bilovec, Czechoslovakia easily navigated her way to the second round of the tournament with an imposing 6-3, 6-1 victory over the 19-year-old Latvian tennis ace in barely an hour.

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"I think the first time I lost to her (Ostapenko) in Doha, where I wasn't playing well. I didn't feel as well mentally," Kvitova said after the opening round match. "My tennis wasn't really in the peak, which always kind of interrupted my confidence." 

Kvitova currently ranks No. 16 in the latest WTA world rankings. She has also won the tourney's inaugural in 2014 and will be facing the winner of the match between Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the second round of the competition, according to Xinhua.

Meanwhile, with an uncomfortably hot weather, three participating players have withdrawn during their respective matches. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia and Heather Watson of the Great Britain retired after perhaps an agonizing extreme heat in the court.

However, the stifling weather did not cause any trouble to Kvitova in flaunting her dominance over Ostapenko, who is No. 46 in the world rankings, based on the report of China Daily Asia.

"It doesn't matter, I think," the Czech tennis ace said. "In the car to site, my fitness coach told me it should be like 34 degrees and like 90% of humid as well. I'm like, Okay, that's good to know." 

"I was a bit worried, but nothing really happened on the court," Kvitova added. "I was feeling okay. I mean, I was just sweating a lot. But I didn't feel like very hot or something. I had ice on the court and it was pretty okay." 

TagsPetra Kvitova, wta rankings, wuhan open, wta, Jelena Ostapenko, 2016 Wuhan Open Tennis