Maria Sharapova vs Petra Kvitova

Maria Sharapova vs Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova defeats Maria Sharapova to win Wimbledon title

scharapowa vs kvitova ,LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Maria Sharapova of Russia in action during thier Ladies' final round match on Day Twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot during her Ladies' final round match against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic on Day Twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic celebrates match point after winning her Ladies' final round match against Maria Sharapova of Russia on Day Twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2011 in London, England. Kvitova won 6-3 6-4. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic kisses Maria Sharapova of Russia after winning her Ladies' final round match on Day Twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2011 in London, England. Kvitova won 6-3 6-4. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Petra Kvitova won her first Grand Slam title Saturday by defeating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon, finishing with an ace and dropping to her knees in disbelief.

Kvitova was playing in her first major final, but it was three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova who showed her nerves. The 2004 Wimbledon winner double-faulted six times, including twice to get broken to 4-2 in the first set.
The 21-year-old Kvitova is the first left-handed woman to win Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 1990. Using a fast and accurate forehand, Kvitova did little wrong on Centre Court as Czech greats Navratilova and Jana Novotna sat in the Royal Box with other former Wimbledon champions.
“It’s hard to find some words if I’m standing here with the trophy and see the great players in the Royal Box,” Kvitova said. “Well, I’m so happy that I won.”

Kvitova (pronounced kuh-VIT-uh-vuh) kept Sharapova on the run with 18 winners, and never seemed to lose confidence despite being broken three times.

“Of course, I was nervous,” Kvitova said. “I thought I can win Wimbledon. But I had to focus on each point.”
Sharapova was the clear favorite. Besides winning at the All England Club in 2004, she also won the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. Shoulder surgery in October 2008 slowed her career, but she returned to the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since then at the French Open last month.
“I’ve had amazing support over so many years and to be back at this stage and holding the runner-up trophy this year is something. … Obviously I would have wanted that big one. It’s something I’m going to be back for and I’m hoping to get again,” Sharapova said.
Sharapova had not lost a set heading into the final. But she struggled with her serve in the semifinals, double-faulting 13 times before beating German wild card Sabine Lisicki
Sharapova won the toss at the net before the final and elected to receive, perhaps wanting time to settle in before testing her serve. Whatever the reason, it appeared a smart move because she broke for a 1-0 lead as Kvitova missed three forehands.
Sharapova then served for the first time in the next game. Although she only had one fault in five attempts, she lost four of the points to make it 1-1.
Sharapova wasted her second chance at a break in the third game. A few games later, with the score 30-30, Sharapova produced her second double-fault of the match. The third came two swings later.
Trailing 5-2, Sharapova double-faulted again to open the eighth game. But she did manage to hold and force Kvitova to serve out the set.
Kvitova broke Sharapova again in the opening game of the second set, with the Russian double-faulting for the fifth time to give the Czech a break point.
The pair twice traded breaks later in the set, but Kvitova held to win the championship dish.
“Unfortunately in tennis there’s only one winner at the end of the day and that’s what makes this tournament so special,” Sharapova said before turning her attention to Kvitova. “So big congratulations on a wonderful victory, you played a wonderful tournament.”

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Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova

video: Victoria Azarenka double faults on match point

In the second Thursday semifinal at Wimbledon, Maria Sharapova was able to withstand 13 double faults and advance to the tournament final. In the first semi, Victoria Azarenka wasn't so fortunate:

1. Azarenka had double faulted once all match prior to that one.

2. If there was ever a doubt about how affected Azarenka's grunts are, listen to the similarities between the first serve and second serve shrieks. How could an easy, 81 mph serve elicit the same sort of effort squeal as a loaded up first serve?

3. To all television broadcasters, please stop cutting to the player's box immediately after the match. The progression of cuts are the same following every victory: wide shot of point, close-up of player celebrating, close-up of people clapping/high-fiving in player's box, lingering on the close-up of people clapping and high-fiving in the player's box for a beat too long and then the handshake at the net. Look, we get it; the people in the player's box are happy. Who cares? Unless there's Brooklyn Decker or Sasha Vujacic there, people in the player's box are completely interchangeable. So are their celebrations. Instead of cutting to them, how about keeping the camera on the winner or showing a shot of the player who just lost? That's where the drama is. How long will the winner celebrate? Will he/she jog to the net? Is the loser going to be perturbed because of the wait? There are dozens of ways the end-of-match scenarios could play out. The player's box is the same thing every time.

4. Given that Petra Kvitova is playing the erratic-serving Maria Sharapova on Saturday, there's a legitimate chance she could be on the receiving end of match-winning double faults in both the semis and the finals.

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