Kanepi talks candid
The smallest of points can prove to be crucial during a professional tennis match. Whether a player claims the victory, or hangs her head in defeat can depend on just a few wrong moves; one or two careless mistakes can turn the match sour.
Kaia Kanepi can surely attest to her match taking the wrong turn. Five times throughout the match against Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic, the Estonian qualifier was one point away from securing a date in the semi-final with defending champion Serena Williams. This would have been Kanepi’s best career performance to date, but instead she went on to suffer an upsetting defeat by Kvitova, one that seemed unlikely for the majority of the quarter-final match with the Czech, but that occurred nonetheless.
Kanepi did hold three match points in the tie-break of the second set, leading 4-0 with a double break, as well as 5-2 late in the deciding game. She also had two match points at 6-5. Yet, a short while later, the tournament was over for the world’s No.80. Kanepi was defeated with a 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 8-6 victory by Kvitova.
Kanepi falls to Kvitova
Kvitova is unseeded at the Championship, yet she managed to secure a semi-final spot at Wimbledon after beating Kanepi on Tuesday.
Kvitova, the No. 62 in the world, started off a little lousy when the Estonian gave away three match points in the tie break. Kvitova had never before won a match at Wimbledon, yet courageously managed to save five critical match points.
Kvitova kept her resilience, and finally broke in game 13, before serving out to love following two hours and 39 minutes of match play. The Czech will now face defending champion Serena Williams in the semi-finals.
A slew of questions
After Kanepi’s unlikely defeat came the grilling interview. A group of journalists huddled together in the All England Club's central interview room, irking to cut apart Kanepi’s post-match condition. Kanepi had hardly had enough time to go over her match perfromance with Silver Karjus, her Estonian coach.
"I don't know what to say," a bewildered Kanepi answered when asked whether Kvitova had performed better. "I think I could have handled it better to win, [given] the opportunities I had, so I think it's also a mental [issue]. During the match points I just tried to play the point, but nothing special. I didn't have thoughts [of playing in the semi-finals]. I just tried to play each point, each game."
There was a question regarding Kanepi’s opinion on whether it was a case of Kvitova winning points, or Kanepi letting them go.
After giving it some thought, Kvitova responded: "Fifty-fifty. I had a few second serves. She hit them well on the line. Then I had my serve, double fault. I had my few serve opportunities. So it was 50-50."
Having missed three match points in the tie-break, Kanepi managed to regroup and take command of the third set. Yet following a build up of a four-game advantage, the Estonian was unable to finish off the left-handed Kvitova.
"She played a little bit better at this stage," Kanepi admitted. "I think when she broke she got some more confidence and she just kept in there. Kept fighting. I made a few errors. That's the way it goes."
Kanepi positive about future
It is undoubtedly a challenge to find many positives from Tuesday's unlikely upset, yet Kanepi hopes that she will soon be able to enjoy remembering her journey to the last eight, which did include an impressive total of seven straight-set victories.
"Overall, it's very positive for me to have so many matches on grass, good matches. Obviously right now I feel disappointed, but I think it's going away in a few hours."
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