Kvitova crowned Wimbledon queen
Czech upsets Sharapova in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam title.
LONDON:
Petra Kvitova sent favourite Maria Sharapova spiralling to a stunning defeat to win her first Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon.
The 21-year-old eighth seed became only the third Czech woman to triumph at Wimbledon after Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna, who watched the game from the royal box.
Kvitova, appearing in her first Grand Slam final, collapsed to the turf in delight after clinching the title.
“It’s hard to find words, to see the great players in the royal box,” she said. “It’s very nice when they’re watching me all the time and supporting me, it’s great.”
But it was a desperately disappointing outcome for Russian fifth-seed Sharapova, the 2004 champion, who was tipped to win her fourth Grand Slam crown.
“It’s great to be back at this stage and holding the runner-up plate — but I wanted the big one,” she said. “It’s something I want to be back for and holding again one day.”
Kvitova dominates hapless Sharapova
Sharapova paid the price for a faltering service game which Kvitova was able to break.
A nervous start saw both the players suffer breaks of serve before the match settled down.
The eighth-seed fought off a Sharapova break point in the third game before holding to take a 2-1 lead.
The break came in the sixth game when Sharapova’s serve let her down.
The Russian’s problems on serve continued as she was forced to save a set point in the face of some relentless groundstrokes from Kvitova before holding for 5-3.
Kvitova was not to be denied in the next game with the Czech’s left-handed spin on serve causing all sorts of problems for Sharapova as she successfully held to take the set.
In the second set another poor service game from Sharapova saw her double-fault at 30-40 down to gift Kvitova her third break of the match.
But the 2004 champion was able to carve out a break to level at 2-2, when Kvitova failed to put away a routine smash.
However, the problems which had dogged her serve resurfaced and the former world number one did not find answers to Kvitova’s unstoppable forehand crashing to defeat.
Nadal not distracted
Meanwhile defending champion Rafael Nadal insisted he will not be distracted by the pursuit of Grand Slam history or the loss of his world number one spot to Novak Djokovic when he takes on the Serb in the Wimbledon final.
The Spaniard believes that victory will not necessarily mean he is destined to overhaul Roger Federer’s record of 16 Grand Slam titles.
“The number 16? I think about the number 10,” he said. “That’s what I have at home. I don’t have 11 and 16 is very far.”
Murray, on the other hand, vowed to work harder after his latest attempt ended in bitter defeat.
“It’s a tough era,” he said. “Tennis right at the top of the game, is exceptional. So not only to get level with those guys, but to push past them, you need to work harder than them.”
Petra Kvitova
“It’s hard to find words, to see the great players in the royal box. It’s very nice when they’re watching me all the time and supporting me, it’s great.”
Maria Sharapova
“It’s great to be back at this stage and holding the runner-up plate - but I wanted the big one. It’s something I want to be back for and holding again one day.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2011.
Petra Kvitova sent favourite Maria Sharapova spiralling to a stunning defeat to win her first Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon.
The 21-year-old eighth seed became only the third Czech woman to triumph at Wimbledon after Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna, who watched the game from the royal box.
Kvitova, appearing in her first Grand Slam final, collapsed to the turf in delight after clinching the title.
“It’s hard to find words, to see the great players in the royal box,” she said. “It’s very nice when they’re watching me all the time and supporting me, it’s great.”
But it was a desperately disappointing outcome for Russian fifth-seed Sharapova, the 2004 champion, who was tipped to win her fourth Grand Slam crown.
“It’s great to be back at this stage and holding the runner-up plate — but I wanted the big one,” she said. “It’s something I want to be back for and holding again one day.”
Kvitova dominates hapless Sharapova
Sharapova paid the price for a faltering service game which Kvitova was able to break.
A nervous start saw both the players suffer breaks of serve before the match settled down.
The eighth-seed fought off a Sharapova break point in the third game before holding to take a 2-1 lead.
The break came in the sixth game when Sharapova’s serve let her down.
The Russian’s problems on serve continued as she was forced to save a set point in the face of some relentless groundstrokes from Kvitova before holding for 5-3.
Kvitova was not to be denied in the next game with the Czech’s left-handed spin on serve causing all sorts of problems for Sharapova as she successfully held to take the set.
In the second set another poor service game from Sharapova saw her double-fault at 30-40 down to gift Kvitova her third break of the match.
But the 2004 champion was able to carve out a break to level at 2-2, when Kvitova failed to put away a routine smash.
However, the problems which had dogged her serve resurfaced and the former world number one did not find answers to Kvitova’s unstoppable forehand crashing to defeat.
Nadal not distracted
Meanwhile defending champion Rafael Nadal insisted he will not be distracted by the pursuit of Grand Slam history or the loss of his world number one spot to Novak Djokovic when he takes on the Serb in the Wimbledon final.
The Spaniard believes that victory will not necessarily mean he is destined to overhaul Roger Federer’s record of 16 Grand Slam titles.
“The number 16? I think about the number 10,” he said. “That’s what I have at home. I don’t have 11 and 16 is very far.”
Murray, on the other hand, vowed to work harder after his latest attempt ended in bitter defeat.
“It’s a tough era,” he said. “Tennis right at the top of the game, is exceptional. So not only to get level with those guys, but to push past them, you need to work harder than them.”
Petra Kvitova
“It’s hard to find words, to see the great players in the royal box. It’s very nice when they’re watching me all the time and supporting me, it’s great.”
Maria Sharapova
“It’s great to be back at this stage and holding the runner-up plate - but I wanted the big one. It’s something I want to be back for and holding again one day.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2011.