Petra Kvitova downs Maria Sharapova to clinch maiden Grand Slam crown – Wimbledon Championships 2011
World number eight, Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova outshined former world number one, Russia’s Maria Sharapova in straight sets to triumph at Wimbledon Championships 2011, third of the four Grand Slam event held on grass courts
in London, United Kingdom.
With her master class performance, Czech registered a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the 24-year-old Russian to win her maiden Grand Slam title on Saturday.
The stars’ games were perfectly suited to grass; one with her arsenal of powerful, flat blasts from ground while the other with pinpoint slice backhands and a solid net game. Both were in their top form and received a standing
ovation as they entered the Centre Court in high spirits.
On the eve of the final, Kvitova said, “I will have to play my best. If I play 100 per cent, then I can win. It's good for Sharapova that she has the experience from 2004. But still it will be different match, different
opponent. It will be me. So we will see."
When the time came, the Czech displayed brilliant tennis and stunned 2004 titlist, Sharapova in straight sets. She not only earned her maiden major title but also took revenge for the loss at Memphis last year to level the head-to-head
scores at 1-1 against the Russian.
Eighth seeded Czech took one hour and twenty-five minutes at the Centre Court to crush the Russian’s dream of re-living her glory days. Kvitova seemed a natural winner on the grass as she displayed extra-ordinary skills to stun
the fifth seeded Sharapova on their second meeting. Despite clobbering a lower first serve share and committing thirteen unforced errors in the match, she broke the below par Russian’s serve five times to triumph.
21-year-old made a shaky start as she lost her opening serve of the first set due to forehand errors. However, she made a fitting reply by gearing up nicely to snatch the break back in the very next game. Kvitova then held on to
her entire serves by maintain consistence in her game and earned the second break with the help from Sharapova’s double fault in the sixth game to seal the opener with a 6-3 win in forty minutes.
The Bilovec native improved her ways in the second set as she got the desiderated break in the very first game with the help from Russian’s double fault. She then kept her serve to take a 2-0 lead before Sharapova could hold on.
Later, the Czech faced bumps on her way to glory as she exchanged two breaks in the next four games but still had an edge of an early break she got. Kvitova then held her following two serves using her angled serves and forehands to perfection to live her
dream.
"It's hard to find words," she said. "I still don't know how I feel. It's still an unbelievable feeling. Maybe I'll accept it after... I don't know... some days. I was so happy at the moment when I won. It's strange."
The left hander won her first major title and became the first Czech to win a Grand Slam event since Jana Novotna in 1998 at SW 19.
Tags: