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Wimbledon: Women’s Final Day Wrap up
It was just seven years ago that a rising, fearless seventeen year old took to the courts on Women’s final day at Wimbledon, and took apart Serena Williams. Fast forward to this weekend, and that seventeen year old Maria Sharapova was to appear in her second Wimbledon final and was to suffer the same fate that she handed Serena Williams all those years ago, as she was demolished by Petra Kvitova.
Petra Kvitova is not an unknown, she has been rising for a while, and at number eight in the world you cannot say that her winning Wimbledon was a great shock, especially considering the openness of the women’s game at this time. However, it was the manner of the victory that was a great surprise.
Sharapova started well and broke Kvitova early to gain the initiative, and it looked worryingly for Kvitova that this could be one way traffic. However, whereas the Sharapova of old would have been rock solid behind her serve, the Sharapova post shoulder surgery, is shaky and looks fragile every time she steps up to serve. Nobody else in the draw has really made Maria pay for this frailty, but Kvitova was able to exploit it in full, as she broke back and started to gain some momentum.
Kvitova is the complete package, excellent serve, powerful groundies, a good reader of the game, not bad at the net and she moves excellently for a tall women, quite the opposite of Sharapova. She utilized all her weapons and made an error strewn Sharapova pay as she took the opening set without hesitation 6-3.
Kvitova continued this excellent form into the beginning of the second set where she broke the Sharapova serve once again, however this time she could not consolidate and the match went through a topsy-turvy stage whereby neither player could hold their service games. Eventually it was Kvitova who regained her composure behind serve, and pretty quickly she found herself at 5-4, serving for the Wimbledon title.
One could have forgiven Kvitova for getting nervous on the verge of her first grand slam final, but she showed nothing of the sort as the closed the match out with a superb service game to love, wrapping the victory up with an ace. A look of disbelief crept across Kvitova’s face almost as if this was too good to be true. Onlookers including Czech great’s Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna were there to watch as young Kvitova took the first of what is sure to be many grand slam titles, and heralded in a new era for women’s tennis, as the first player born in the 1990′s to win a grand slam. She joins a select list of wonderful champions to have won the title, if you go through the history of the tournament only great players have taken this title, and then gone on to become huge stars subsequently. Kvitova, in her broken english, seemed overewhelmed by the occasion and her achievement, and she will now have to get used to a life in the limelight and one where she is one of the players that everyone wants to beat.
For Sharapova it has been an excellent year, the fact that she was even able to return to tennis after the shoulder surgery, is a miracle in itself, and is testament to the kind of person she is. After a great run at the French, and a super run here, she will be looking to dominate on the US hard courts, although she will certainly have to address her issues on serve first.
In the Men’s double final, the Bryan twins wrapped up their second Wimbledon title with an emphatic straight sets victory over the eight seeds Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau. The lower seeded pairing seemed overwhelmed by the occasion and the twins, as the Bryans took home yet another grand slam title.
The Women’s doubles final was an unexpectedly short lived affair, as number two seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik took out Sammy Stosur and Sabine Lisicki in two comfortable sets. Stosur and Lisicki had blitzed through the tournament, but the occasion proved to be too much for them, in particular Lisicki, whose serve went to pieces and who could barely get a ball in court at one stage. Srebotnik was dominant at the net and assured a first grand slam women’s doubles title for her and her partner.
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Following on from the men’s preview yesterday let’s take a lot at the women’s tournament, which as it seems is always the case these days, is completely wide open.
Nobody stands out as a hot favourite, if Serena and Venus had played a few more tournaments prior to Wimbledon then they would automatically be shoe-ins for the title, however with lack of match practice after long injury breaks it is difficult to see what level they are at right now. One thing is for sure though, come Wimbledon the sisters will give 110% and even after such long injury breaks, one would not be suprised to see them in the finals. I am not sure whether this is testament to them or a sad indictment of the women’s game, maybe a bit of both.
We’ve got perennial under achiever Caroline Wozniacki, number one now for a considerable period of time, yet still lacking that major win. Is she starting to feel the pressure upon her shoulders as she searches for the title that will put an end to her doubters? German Julia Goerges could prove to be a tricky opponent for Wozniacki in the fourth round should the two get that far and with two wins over the world number one this year already, it wouldn’t be a great upset if Goerges was to do it again. The likely semi finalist from this segment will be one of the above or Sammy Stosur who had a solid week in Easbourne before being demolished by Bartoli, or Maria Sharapova, off the back of a good French Open result and back on her favoured grass, she will be looking for a strong showing.
New French Open champion Li Na is in the bottom segment of the top half, she has done well at Wimbledon before and has the grass court pedigree to do really well this year. Provided she has recovered from her epic triumph at the French Open she will certainly be one of the many favourites going into the tournament. Lisicki fresh off a grass court triumph last week in ‘S-Hertogenbosch could prove a very stern test in the second round. Li’s main opposition in the later rounds will come from the likes of Eastbourne champion and former Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, fresh off a first grass court tournament victory as long as she can keep it together physically and mentally she could do very well here. Though navigating past Serena Williams could be a stern test for Bartoli, however she has had big wins at Wimbledon in the past (think Justine Henin) so will have nothing to fear at the All England Club.
The bottom half is headed up by French Open finalist and little dynamo Francesca Schiavone, what she lacks in grass court pedigree she more than makes up for in heart and determination, and you know she will give it absolutely everything she’s got. Petkovic and the petko dance, are likely to prove pretty stiff opposition in the bottom half, as well as Hantuchova provided she is fit and can keep the mental wobbles at bay and of course Victoria Azarenka, who has the perfect game for the grass, but also may be worried by a recent injury.
Recent Eastbourne finalist Kvitova heads up the bottom of the draw, she will be looking to take in the excellent form she showed at the Aegon International onto the hallowed Wimbledon turf. Kuznetsova could be a bit of a dark horse in the draw, she has the ideal game for grass, and if she could perfect her serve and volleying, she could be dominant on this surface. Unfortunately I seem to say this about Sveta before every single tournament, one day she will prove me right again, I am sure of it, she is too talented not too. Venus Williams is also in the section at the bottom of the draw, like her sister it is difficult to see where she is at right now, but she can’t argue against the serial Wimbledon champion, if she can play her way into the tournament, then she will be hard to stop. Also in the bottom of the draw is number two seed and last years finalist Vera Zvonereva, dumped out early at Eastbourne, she will be looking to find the form of last year that took her on such a fantastic run to the final. This bottom section of the draw is fairly ram packed with big names, so their should be some belters during the first week.
Picks of the first round:
Alona Bondarenko vs. Jarmila Gajdosova. This could be a little cracker of a match, Bondarenko has slid down the rankings of late, but will be wanting to put in a big performance here to grab some points, Gajdosova has had a pretty solid year, so it will be a tough battle.
Anna Chakvetadze vs. Maria Sharapova. What the hell happened to Chakvetadze? She has alarmingly slid down the rankings, and has only won back to back matches at one tournament this year. Nothing is likely to raise your game more though than an encounter with your fellow countrywomen, especially when that happens to be Sharapova.
Aravane Rezai vs. Serena Williams. Rezai showed such promise in her early days on the tour, but she has failed to follow this up with anything of note. If you are going to take out Serena in a major tournament then the early rounds are where she will be vulnerable, especially after her lack of game time. This could be a tough match, though I would expect Serena to get the job done.
Francesca Schaivona vs Jelena Dokic. Dokic has always been a bit of a crowd favourite, and it is nice to see her back on tour and doing well both on and off the court. Fresh off a final appearance at ‘S-Hertogenbosch last week she will be in confident move and an early upset could definitely be on the cards.
The women’s tournament as ever, could have a winner out of about 10 different players, it is a great time and a great chance for younger players to take advantage of the weaknesses that currently run through the game and take their chance on the biggest stage.
So that time has come round again…yes two week tennis fans…Wimbledon is on…time to be glued to your boxes, whilst you eat your strawberries and cream and wonder who on earth most of the seeded women players are.
I love Wimbledon, but I hate two week tennis fans, nothing winds me up more. As a passionate tennis fan and someone who follows the tour year round, nothing is more frustrating than somebody who only watches Wimbledon claiming to be a tennis fan. Alas, rant over.
This years tournament should be a cracker, provided the standard British weather holds off, for the first week at least, it looks like the centre court roof may be seeing more action than Rafael Nadal. It is probably about time as it can’t have been used more than a handful of times since its inception…sods law.
Oh yeah that’s right, I am previewing the tournament right….Ok let’s take a look at the men’s draw. Just like the French Open it is really hard to look outside the top four seeds, and one would expect to see the names of Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray in the draw come the semi finals.
Rafa is the defending champion and he will be in confident mood coming off the back of a morale boosting win at the French. He looked jaded at Queens in his loss to Tsonga but after a little bit of a break he should be fit and ready to go come tomorrow afternoon. He should have no trouble with Michael Russell up first, and will look to play himself into the tournament. A potential 3rd round encounter with exciting Canadian prospect Milos Raonic could be a belter, and with Juan Martin Del Potro lingering as a potential fourth round opponent he could have a tricky run through. His seeded quarter final opponent is supposed to be Thomas Berdych though he has struggled for form as of late but has pedigree on the grass as seen here last year.
Andy Murray makes up the rest of the the top half of the draw, and should both Rafa and Andy make it through to the semi final it will be a titantic struggle. First Murray has to navigate his section of the draw. Daniel Gimeno-Traver should prove an easy opener, but sterner tests lie ahead in the form of Ivan Ljubicic who did well at the French or Marin Cilic always a tricky opponent, especially on the grass. With Gasquet, Wawrinka, Monfils and Roddick also lurking in Murrays draw it will not be an easy route through, but supported by the home crowd and fresh off the back of a Queens club win, anything less than a semi final showing would be a dissappointment.
Roger Federer kicks off the top of the bottom half of the draw, he will be bruised after his loss to Nadal at the French though will have taken much confidence from ending the Djokovic streak, back at a place where he has seen so much success is bound to be a good feeling. He has a relatively straightforward route through, the only obstacle (and it is a big one) is in the form of Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, who has just come off an excellent week at Queens and will be a stiff opponent. On the whole Federer does have the easiest (if you can call it that) route through.
Novak Djokovic rounds off the bottom half of the draw, after taking a few weeks off, post Federer ending his epic unbeaten streak, he will look to come to Wimbledon refreshed and revitalised and playing some of the fantastic tennis which has left him so close to the number one spot. Seppi fresh off his win at Eastbourne or Robin Soderling could prove the trickiest opponents in his section, but again like Federer he has a much easier draw than Murray or Nadal.
The top half of the draw is a lot more packed and congested with big names, so there should be some quality matches over the fortnight. Lets take a quick look at some of the first round matches to watch:
Stepanek vs Verdasco, this one could be a tricky encounter, although Stepanek with his serve and volley game, has a lot more grass court pedigree than the Spaniard.
Ljubicic vs Cilic, the all Croat battle is sure to be an ace-fest, decided by who serves the biggest and makes the most of it by following it in to shorten the points.
Karlovic vs Tipsarevic, Janko pulled out of Eastbourne injured yesterday so who knows whether he will even start the match, but if he does it should be a close encounter, Karlovic is a tricky man to break on this service, but the little livewire Tipsarevic should be more than up to the test.
Dolgopolov vs Gonzalez. Fernando Gonzalez has been out of the game for almost 9 months after hip surgery, he has played a couple of tournaments during May but has had few results of note. He has always done reasonably well at Wimbledon in the past but up against the young hot shot Dolgopolov he might have his hands full.
Nishikori vs Hewitt. Hewitt has been sliding down the rankings for the past few years, but on the biggest stage at Wimbledon, scene of his greatest triumph, you can never write him off. This one could be a little cracker of a match with the young Nishikori looking for a good showing here.
Of course it wouldn’t be Wimbledon without a bit of Isner vs Mahut…Seriously? How has this happened? How could they possibly be drawn against each other in the first round, after last years epic battle! It should of been outlawed in the rules. Anyway lads, the weather forecast is looking dodgy for the first week so if you could try and keep it short that would be great.
There are some pretty tasty looking first round encounters and possible future round match ups and hopefully the action on the courts over the next fortnight will be hot even if the weather isn’t.
The WTA has been a little bit quiet of late, wide open draws, just about anyone able to win the tournaments, not too many controversial outfits…this can only mean one thing…No Williams Sisters! And the tour has definitely missed them.
The sisters are returning this week in Eastbourne (a great attraction for the tournament). Not known for playing a tournament in the lead up to Wimbledon usually, the sisters both lacking significant match practice, chose the grass court warm up event to make their long awaited returns to the tour.
Serena hasn’t played for almost a year, the last time we saw her on tour was Wimbledon last year, after which she suffered a serious foot injury which led to further complications down the line and the risk of life threatning blood clots which extended her time away from the court even further. The time off no doubt will have been a low point for Serena but the whole affair could have given her a whole new perspective on life and tennis and she could prove an even more formidable opponent than before.
Sister Venus has also suffered with a string of injuries since this years Australian opens and has slid down the rankings to 32 but like sister Serena, the time away will probably have refocused her mind. At the age of 31 she is reaching the twilight of her career in tennis terms so chances to win grand slams will be few and far between, though judging by the standards of the WTA tour since the sisters have been out injured, I don’t think anyone would even bat an eyelid if we were to see an all Williams final at Wimbledon.
Women’s tennis has significantly missed their passion, power, fight, outrageous outfits, and just general presence on and off the court and it is a much richer place with them back both on and off the courts.
