KVITOVA SHINES, BRYAN BROTHERS SHOCKED
Wimbledon: Three years later, Petra Kvitova delivered another stunning result.
The Czech, who had struggled since winning at Wimbledon in 2011, brushed aside any one-hit wonder talk on Saturday, beating Genie Bouchard soundly in a match that lasted less than an hour. Later in the afternoon, one top-notch doubles team completed a career Grand Slam as another was denied a further record. That and more in the best of Day 12.
Match of the Day: [6] Petra Kvitova d [13] Genie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0
Was that the best match of Kvitova’s life? If it wasn’t, the only better one was the Czech player’s triumph here in 2011, when she won the title with a straight-sets win against Maria Sharapova.
From the beginning, Bouchard never got the chance to display whether she was nervous or not, Kvitova cracking winners from the baseline, including a running crosscourt backhand passing shot that may have been the best stroke of the tournament.
Kvitova’s sheer force was on display throughout as she hit 17 winners in the first set and then blasted 11 more in the second, finishing out the 55-minute effort by falling to the floor, her performance overwhelming.
The 24-year-old won in the first major final she’s played in since capturing the Wimbledon title here three years ago, capitalising on the golden opportunity when she had it.
It wasn’t to be for Bouchard, who had steamrolled her way through the draw without dropping a set en route to the final. The 20-year-old was seeking just her second career title as a pro, but the brute force and consistency on this day from Kvitova was just too much.
Kvitova becomes the seventh No.6 seed to win a Grand Slam title in a major (most recently Serena Williams in 2012 at Wimbledon). The meeting marked the first final between two players born in the 1990s, and was the youngest for total age (44) since 2008.
Kvitova’s three-set triumph over Venus Williams in the third round was the only deciding set she had to play in the fortnight, a battle many called the match of the tournament – on the men’s or the women’s side.
by
