Kvitova claims maiden slam crown
Source: Agencies |
July 3, 2011, Sunday
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Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova kept her nerve to out-gun and out-play favorite Maria Sharapova and win the Wimbledon singles title for the first time with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory in London yesterday.
The 21-year-old, who had not won a match on grass until last year, served consistently and maintained a barrage of powerful, attacking groundstrokes to become only the third left-hander to win the women's title after Anne Jones and Martina Navratilova.
Kvitova, appearing in her first grand slam final, dropped her serve in a nervous opening game but stormed back immediately and, having deservedly won the set, continued to go for her shots and reap the dividends.
Sharapova, who won the title as a 17-year-old in 2004, had reached the final without dropping a set but served raggedly and the Russian fifth seed had no answers to the uninhibited approach of her rival, the first Czech to win since Jana Novotna in 1998.
Using a fast-paced and well-placed forehand, Kvitova did little wrong on Centre Court as Czech greats Navratilova and Novotna sat in the Royal Box with a host of other former Wimbledon champions.
Kvitova kept Sharapova on the run with 18 winners, and never seemed to lose confidence despite being broken three times.
Sharapova was the clear favorite entering the match. Besides winning the title at the All England Club in 2004, she also won the US Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. Shoulder surgery in October 2008 slowed her career, but she returned to the semifinals at a grand slam tournament for the first time since 2008 at the French Open last month.
Sharapova had struggled with her serve in the semifinals, too, double-faulting 13 times before beating German wildcard Sabine Lisicki.
The Russian won the toss at the net before the final and elected to receive, perhaps because she wanted some time to get into game action before testing her serve.
Whatever the reason, it appeared to be a smart move because she broke for a 1-0 lead as Kvitova missed three forehands.
Sharapova's serve was then tested for the first time in the next game, and although she only had one fault in five attempts, she lost four of the points to even the score 1-1.
Sharapova wasted her second chance at a break in the third game, but Kvitova didn't have to a few games later. At 30-30, Sharapova produced her second double-fault of the match. The third came two swings later.
Trailing 2-5, Sharapova double-faulted again to open the eighth game. But she did manage to hold and force Kvitova to serve out the set.
Kvitova broke Sharapova again in the opening game of the second set, with the Russian double-faulting for the fifth time to give the Czech a break point.
The pair twice traded breaks later in the set, but Kvitova held to win the championship dish for the first time.
Meanwhile, from 1983 to 2003, the world's top two players never met each other in the Wimbledon men's final.
It's about to happen for the seventh time in eight years - with a couple of twists.
Thanks mainly to a couple of guys named Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, No. 1 vs. No. 2 grand slam finals became something of a regular occurrence in recent years, at the All England Club and elsewhere. Today, No. 1 Nadal will be involved in yet another 1-2 Wimbledon championship matchup, only it'll be against No. 2 Novak Djokovic - and they'll switch spots in the ATP rankings a day later.
As of tomorrow, Djokovic will move up to No. 1, and Nadal will fall to No. 2, regardless of today's outcome. Whichever man wins, it will be the sixth major title in a row that's gone to Nadal (French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in 2010, French Open in 2011) or Djokovic (2010 Australian Open).
"One guy played unbelievable the first half of the year, so he's the new No. 1," Nadal said. "We just can congratulate him, because what he did this first part of the season is something really impressive, really fantastic."
That's definitely the case.
Serb Djokovic is 47-1 in 2011, including a 4-0 record against Nadal of Spain.
The 21-year-old, who had not won a match on grass until last year, served consistently and maintained a barrage of powerful, attacking groundstrokes to become only the third left-hander to win the women's title after Anne Jones and Martina Navratilova.
Kvitova, appearing in her first grand slam final, dropped her serve in a nervous opening game but stormed back immediately and, having deservedly won the set, continued to go for her shots and reap the dividends.
Sharapova, who won the title as a 17-year-old in 2004, had reached the final without dropping a set but served raggedly and the Russian fifth seed had no answers to the uninhibited approach of her rival, the first Czech to win since Jana Novotna in 1998.
Using a fast-paced and well-placed forehand, Kvitova did little wrong on Centre Court as Czech greats Navratilova and Novotna sat in the Royal Box with a host of other former Wimbledon champions.
Kvitova kept Sharapova on the run with 18 winners, and never seemed to lose confidence despite being broken three times.
Sharapova was the clear favorite entering the match. Besides winning the title at the All England Club in 2004, she also won the US Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. Shoulder surgery in October 2008 slowed her career, but she returned to the semifinals at a grand slam tournament for the first time since 2008 at the French Open last month.
Sharapova had struggled with her serve in the semifinals, too, double-faulting 13 times before beating German wildcard Sabine Lisicki.
The Russian won the toss at the net before the final and elected to receive, perhaps because she wanted some time to get into game action before testing her serve.
Whatever the reason, it appeared to be a smart move because she broke for a 1-0 lead as Kvitova missed three forehands.
Sharapova's serve was then tested for the first time in the next game, and although she only had one fault in five attempts, she lost four of the points to even the score 1-1.
Sharapova wasted her second chance at a break in the third game, but Kvitova didn't have to a few games later. At 30-30, Sharapova produced her second double-fault of the match. The third came two swings later.
Trailing 2-5, Sharapova double-faulted again to open the eighth game. But she did manage to hold and force Kvitova to serve out the set.
Kvitova broke Sharapova again in the opening game of the second set, with the Russian double-faulting for the fifth time to give the Czech a break point.
The pair twice traded breaks later in the set, but Kvitova held to win the championship dish for the first time.
Meanwhile, from 1983 to 2003, the world's top two players never met each other in the Wimbledon men's final.
It's about to happen for the seventh time in eight years - with a couple of twists.
Thanks mainly to a couple of guys named Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, No. 1 vs. No. 2 grand slam finals became something of a regular occurrence in recent years, at the All England Club and elsewhere. Today, No. 1 Nadal will be involved in yet another 1-2 Wimbledon championship matchup, only it'll be against No. 2 Novak Djokovic - and they'll switch spots in the ATP rankings a day later.
As of tomorrow, Djokovic will move up to No. 1, and Nadal will fall to No. 2, regardless of today's outcome. Whichever man wins, it will be the sixth major title in a row that's gone to Nadal (French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in 2010, French Open in 2011) or Djokovic (2010 Australian Open).
"One guy played unbelievable the first half of the year, so he's the new No. 1," Nadal said. "We just can congratulate him, because what he did this first part of the season is something really impressive, really fantastic."
That's definitely the case.
Serb Djokovic is 47-1 in 2011, including a 4-0 record against Nadal of Spain.
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