Petra Kvitova defeated Eugenie Bouchard, 6-3, 6-0, to win the women’s singles title yesterday July 5, 2014 Eugenie Bouchard arrived at Centre Court with cool confidence and a ruthless tennis game to match. Bouchard, a 20-year-old Canadian, had captured the affection of her country and of the British tabloids, her looks, play and comparisons to Maria Sharapova. Bouchard now has one more in common with Sharapova. She, too, has been defeated by Petra Kvitova in a Wimbledon final. Kvitova won yesterday her second Wimbledon championship with a near-perfect deconstruction of Bouchard in only 55 minutes, the quickest women’s singles final in 31 years. In 2011, Kvitova beat Sharapova in the final, 6-3, 6-4. Other than Venus and Serena Williams, Kvitova is the only two-time winner in women’s singles since 1996, when Steffi Graf won the last of her championships. Eugenie Bouchard is projected to rise to seventh in the women’s rankings. “It means everything,” Kvitova said, calling the victory one of the best matches she had played. “It’s Wimbledon — the tennis history, and Centre Court is great to play on, and I feel at home. Kvitova, seeded sixth, surprised Bouchard with her ability to cover the court, extending points that would have long been lost by Bouchard’s previous opponents. Kvitova’s powerful strokes were directed at all the proper angles, as if drawn by a protractor. Her two-handed, crosscourt backhand, in particular, was routinely out of reach for the quick-footed Bouchard. “A few shots were incredible, and I couldn’t believe I made it, actually,” Kvitova said. Kvitova also mixed speeds and spins, her array of first serves ranging from 85-mile-per-hour gyroscopes to 113-m.p.h. lasers. Bouchard’s strategy of standing inside the baseline, shortening the court and quickening the pace, was no match for Kvitova. Petra Kvitova after she won the fastest Wimbledon women’s final in 31 years. “A few shots were incredible, and I couldn’t believe I made it, actually,” she said. “She didn’t give me many opportunities to stay in the rallies or do what I do,” Bouchard said. Kvitova broke Bouchard in her second service game, then won the best point of the match to take a 3-1 first-set lead. Bouchard had Kvitova on the run, pushing the point to Kvitova’s side of the court, before Kvitova rushed to reach a ball and send it for a rousing crosscourt winner. The victorious Kvitova struggled to maintain her form amid injuries and expectations after her victory three years ago. But she rediscovered her confidence over the past two weeks specially when she won a rejuvenated Venus Williams in a three-set, third-round match on Centre Court. “It’s my second title, so I hope that now it is going to be a little easier for me,” Kvitova said during an on-court interview, holding the Venus Rosewater Dish that now has her named etched on it twice. Bouchard, witnessed the engraver adding Kvitova’s name to the dish. Bouchard was the first Canadian player, male or female, to reach a Grand Slam final. She grew up in Westmount, a primarily English-speaking neighborhood of Montreal, and throughout Canada she has become a lead story. Bouchard had treated every victory in the tournament with coolness suggesting that her ambition was winning the tournament. She had been a semifinalist this year at the Australian Open and the French Open, and will head toward the United States Open as a favorite. But she has dreamed of winning Wimbledon since she was 9, she said. Reaching the final was less a surprise than a plan come to fruition. Bouchard won the Wimbledon junior doubles title in 2011 and the junior doubles and singles titles in 2012. A year ago, when she lost in the third round of the main draw, she was ranked 66th in the world. Despite Saturday’s loss, she is projected to leap to No. 7. “I feel like it’s a step in the right direction,” Bouchard said on the court with a pursed smile. “I don’t know if I deserve all your love today, but I certainly appreciate it.” Kvitova will move to No. 4 and may now, at 24, have the game and the comportment to rack up more major titles, particularly on the friendly grass at Wimbledon. As Kvitova grew up in the Czech Republic, she played tennis for fun, mostly against her father, Jiri. Left-handed like her idol, the Czech-born champion Martina Navratilova, Kvitova did not think until deep into her teens that she might have the talent to make a career of the game. She is popular on tour, seen as a shy and friendly presence. Only her game is intimidating. When her final point crossed the net — a crosscourt backhand that Bouchard helplessly watched go by — Kvitova raised her arms and dropped to her back. Wimbledon had seen this once before and might just see it again.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 09:41:20 +0000
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