Petra Kvitova Routs Eugenie Bouchard for Wimbledon Title

Bouchard now has something else in common with Sharapova. She, too, has been dominated by Petra Kvitova in a Wimbledon final.

 

Kvitova won her second Wimbledon championship with a near-perfect deconstruction of Bouchard on Saturday. The 6-3, 6-0 victory took 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.

“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.

 

“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 victory represents a small comeback for Kvitova, who 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, never more than when she faced down 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, in a somewhat cruel twist, was an accidental witness to the etching. Centre Court’s retractable roof, open during the match, was closed as rain began to fall before the awards ceremony. Bouchard was ushered into a room to wait for about 10 minutes. The engraver was there, adding Kvitova’s name to the trophy.

Though the outcome was swift, it was in doubt at the start. In a tournament filled with upsets — No. 1 Serena Williams and No. 2 Li Na failed to reach the quarterfinals — Kvitova advanced to the final without playing a higher-ranked opponent. And in Bouchard, seeded 13th, she faced the latest darling of the tennis world, the youngest female Grand Slam finalist since Caroline Wozniacki at the 2009 United States Open.

 

Bouchard was also 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 and an instant treasure, a transcendent star.

The British were quick to adopt her. Bouchard and her twin sister, Beatrice, were named for the daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York. Bouchard had expressed several times that she hoped to meet Princess Eugenie, saying Friday: “It would be crazy to meet someone you’re named after. That’s just the craziest thing.” As if by royal edict, the princess appeared, sitting in the royal box on Saturday.

 

With the Scotsman Andy Murray dismissed from the men’s side of the tournament in the quarterfinals, Bouchard assumed the role of Britain’s primary Wimbledon story. The Times of London splashed a photo of her practicing on the front page of Saturday’s newspaper. The demise of her long friendship with the British player Laura Robson became gossip material. The French news media, too, have become enamored, in part because, being from Quebec, Bouchard speaks the language, although with a French Canadian accent.

 

Bouchard had treated every victory in the tournament with a subdued smile, explaining her coolness by suggesting that her ambition was winning the tournament, not steppingstone matches along the way. 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.

By JOHN BRANCH