One match into the year-end championships and we're already making bold predictions. It's what we the pundits do: make a living out of snap, often unsubstantiated, judgments. But Petra Kvitova's opening-day performance in Istanbul was remarkably compelling -- so much so that you kind of get the feeling she is the player to beat.

The strong serve, the combination of southpaw deft and power and the unexpected net play. Ah, the endless talent leaves us salivating for more.

You may remember Wimbledon 2011, when this somewhat unknown prodigy stunned Maria Sharapova to win her first Slam. It was the kind of feat that signaled the beginning of stardom. This was not Slammin' Samantha Stosur nor was it Li Na -- both major winners this season. No one is expecting either of them to rule the tour in the coming years. There was something special, almost unexplainable, about Kvitova's effortless strokes and her all-around penetrating game.

But you've probably heard this story before. Player wins big title. Player slips back into the vortex of forgotten land. Such was the case for Kvitova, who did little to resemble even a modicum of that masterful Wimby performance until her title in Linz, Austria, last week. A good time to get hot, eh? She carried that momentum into the year-end championships campaign with a decisive 6-2, 6-4 win over Vera Zvonareva. So again, we're inclined to raise the question: Does Kvitova have the stuff to dominate women's tennis? She has the ability, yes, but is she shrewd enough to fight through adversity?

Kvitova boasts the game to finally crack the parity that has plagued the WTA Tour for a number of years. She doesn't seem to carry a lot of excess baggage nor have volatile relationships with her coaches and parents. She doesn't have a beau named Rory or Sasha, and she, to this point, doesn't have any tawdry tales of line-judge run-ins. Ostensibly, she is just a simple girl with a very big game.

Perhaps Kvitova needs to start believing in herself. She doesn't exude the kind of tenacious hunger that you hear from Sharapova and Serena Williams. And despite Caroline Wozniacki's much-maligned career, she's at least comfortable in her role as the world No. 1. When recently asked whether she could reach top ranking, Kvitova coyly responded by saying that any number of her peers could get there. Fair enough, but it's not the kind of blasé rhetoric we want to hear from a player with her boundless skills.

Kvitova is, however, one of three players in the field who can finish the year ranked No. 1. She needs to win the tournament and will need help from Wozniacki and Sharapova (the other competitor who can finish No. 1). All Kvitova can do is take care of herself -- and that's exactly what she did in her Istanbul opener.