INTERVIEW-Tennis-Vaidisova takes to grass despite misgivings

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LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova is no great fan of grass and the hard courts of the U.S. Open are where she prefers to play.

She had no complaints at Wimbledon on Wednesday, however, when she finally got on court for her rain-delayed first round match which she duly won 7-6 6-2 against Italian Karin Knapp.

"I won -- that is the most important thing. The first match is always kind of tricky. The player always comes out with nothing to lose," the world number 10 told Reuters after dismissing an opponent ranked 55 places below her.

Asked how she enjoyed playing on grass, the 18-year-old from Prague had no doubts.

"I am not a fan of it. But I like the challenge, I like something different. It is a question of just getting used to it," she said.

Vaidisova, already the holder of six titles, has been a semi-finalist at the Australian and French Opens and also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.

Asked which of the big tournaments she preferred, she said "The U.S. Open -- that is my favourite grand slam."

Vaidisova, who has already amassed more than $1.7 million dollars in prize money, has been enjoying a golden patch of form in 2007.

She reached back-to-back finals in Sydney and at the Australian Open before reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open in Paris.

In her opening match of Wimbledon 2007, she raced to a 4-2 lead in the first set but then let the Italian, who was making her Wimbledon debut, climb back to contest a tiebreak.

The young Czech, who had to adapt quickly to the swirling wind, boasts a strong serve and a solid all-round game.

"I don't think my serve helped me out as much in the first set. But there were some key shots I had in the tiebreak that won it," she said.

After allowing the Italian briefly to pull level, she was firmly back in control in the second set to coast to what in the end was an easy victory.