Petra Kvitova advanced to the quarterfinals at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy by beating Alison van Uytvanck 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 6-2 on Thursday.

Kvitova, the 2018 champion, saved a set point at 5-4 in the first set and then recovered after being broken in the first game of the decider. She then won six of the next seven games.

“It was pretty challenging today, for sure,” said Kvitova, who was playing for the first time since losing to Ashleigh Barty in last month’s Australian Open quarterfinals.

Kvitova will next play either seventh-seeded Donna Vekic or Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Elsewhere, sixth-seeded Maria Sakkari beat Alize Cornet 6-2 6-4 and will next face top-seeded Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals.