LONDON — Petra Kvitova plays so much better at the All England Club than anywhere else, and now she owns two championships to prove it. ADVERTISING LONDON — Petra Kvitova plays so much better at the All England Club than
LONDON — Petra Kvitova plays so much better at the All England Club than anywhere else, and now she owns two championships to prove it.
In one of the most dominant performances in a women’s final at Wimbledon, the sixth-seeded Kvitova of the Czech Republic overpowered and overwhelmed 13th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 6-3, 6-0 in only 55 minutes Saturday to add to her 2011 title at the grass-court Grand Slam.
“I know,” Kvitova said, “this is the best tournament for me.”
Absolutely true. Her career record of 26-5 at Wimbledon translates to an .839 winning percentage, compared to her marks of .667 at the three other majors and .681 at all other events.
In 2014, Kvitova lost in the first round at the hard-court Australian Open, and in the third round at the clay-court French Open. But get her on the grass court, and those speedy serves and flat forehands really shine.
“For sure, she was on,” Bouchard said. “We know that when she’s on, she’s very tough to beat. Especially on this surface.”
On Saturday, the 24-year-old Kvitova certainly was “on.” Oh, was she ever. Pretty much perfect in every way.
The left-hander hit serves that reached 113 mph and earned easy points. Walloped big, deep returns that left Bouchard little time to react. Smacked flat groundstrokes off both wings that zipped right where she intended, often skidding near lines, helping accumulate a 28-8 edge in winners. Won 11 of 14 points she played at the net.
Most surprisingly, even to Kvitova herself, was the way she motored around the Centre Court grass with her right thigh heavily bandaged, displaying defensive skill that she’s not necessarily known for. It was telling that Bouchard lost in such a lopsided manner despite four unforced errors.
“I mean, (a) few shots was really incredible, and I really couldn’t believe that I made it, actually,” said Kvitova, who was within two points of defeat against Venus Williams in the third round. “I said, ‘Oh, my God, this is good!’”
Women’s doubles
Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci completed a career doubles Grand Slam on Saturday, finishing without any unforced errors in a 6-1, 6-3 win over Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic in the women’s final.
The Italian pair, playing in their eighth Grand Slam final, broke serve in the sixth game of the final set under a closed roof on Centre Court — rain began falling shortly after Petra Kvitova’s singles final win over Eugenie Bouchard.
The Italians, who fell to the ground and hugged after the match ended, have now won five of the last 10 Grand Slam doubles titles.
Errani said their friendship off the court made them better competitors on the court.
“We are like really a team together all the day with our families, our coaches,” Errani said. “I think is very important. … We help each other very much.”
Babos, from Hungary, and French player Mladenovic, were making their debut as a team in a Grand Slam tournament. They had six double-faults and were broken five times.
Men’s doubles
American Jack Sock and Canadian Vasek Pospisil made their first tournament together a championship-winning one, defeating Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the all-North American Wimbledon doubles final on Saturday.
Sock and Pospisil broke the Bryan brothers’ service in the final game on their fifth match point.
The 21-year-old Sock became the third-youngest player to win both a Grand Slam men’s doubles title and a Grand Slam mixed doubles championship in the Open era, adding to the mixed title he won with American Melanie Oudin at the U.S. Open in 2011.
Todd Woodbridge and John McEnroe, both 20, were the only men to win both titles at a younger age, with McEnroe being the youngest.
By wire sources
