Petra glad to add slam to czech list

FEW know Wimbledon like Martina Navratilova and anyone who had listened at the beginning of these Championships would have had some decent money on Petra Kvitova. The latest Wimbledon champion is another product of the Czech Republic and while Navratilova had heralded her chances from the outset, she went into the final as the underdog against the 2004 winner and Centre Court lovely Maria Sharapova. She rarely played like it, coming through in straight sets.

If she shuffled out of the blocks, losing her first service game after her opponent had won the toss and forced her to try to quell the butterflies in her stomach and find her rhythm right away, she finished with a flourish, winning the decisive game of the second set to love, her only ace of the showcase event coming on Championship point.

“I tried to think of it as a normal match. I spoke with the coaches before and they said [to treat it] like I was playing the fourth round. But, yeah, I was surprised how I was feeling on court because I was focused only on the point and on the game and not the final and the medal. I’m so happy for that.”

That calmness continued into the final service game. “I thought before that game, ‘I have to do it now’ and then, when it was 40-0, I don’t know, I was just going for the point and I believed in myself. I did not think ‘OK, I have match point’. To win is an unbelievable feeling, for sure. I was so happy. It was strange.”

That game epitomised the whole performance. It was as gutsy as it was accomplished from last year’s semi-finalist. The 21-year-old had been expected to waver slightly as her inexperience on such a big stage took its toll but she used the nerves to her advantage just as well as she used the power and pace of the Sharapova groundstrokes to batter the normally steely Sharapova into submission and win 6-3, 6-4 to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.

It was a task that was completed in just one hour and 25 minutes.

The Czech youngster had been ranked a lowly 62nd in the draw 12 months ago yet was only denied a place in the final by the eventual winner Serena Williams. It proved she had the kind of game that suited the surface and she had the self-confidence to ensure it didn’t crumble against all but the highest ranked opponents. “Last year I hadn’t many chances to win, Serena played so well. I was young and I didn’t think that I could beat her. But this was different because I felt I could.”

This time she was the number eight seed and it meant that, against Sharapova, she never doubted herself. She said before the final that last year had given her the evidence to back her belief that she could venture deep into this tournament, the performances this year had only underlined her credentials as a potential champion.

With a game well suited to grass, she has a powerful serve and even when that goes array Kvitova also has an aggressive approach, which allowed her to bounce back and turn the pressure immediately back on to her opponent.

Out on court, revelling in the big-match atmosphere, she wanted to dictate play and refused to be bullied. She also showed that she had greater ability to mix up play than her more exalted opponent. Just like her hero Navratilova, she also reaped the advantages to be gained from serving as a left-handed player, although given that only three lefties have won the women’s title, she laughingly disputed that was a massive factor in her triumph.

The new Wimbledon champion, who hails from a town with just four tennis courts, where locals gathered in front of a huge screen to watch her final, was born the year that Navratilova won her final singles title and would have been just eight when she watched fellow Czech Jana Novotna win in 1998. But both women have had a huge influence on her. There had, infamously, been tears from Novotna at the conclusion of her first Wimbledon final, memorably sobbing disconsolate tears on the shoulder of royalty as she lost to Steffi Graf. Yesterday, while her father, who is deputy mayor of her hometown, cried tears of joy, Kvitova choked back the emotion as she thanked her family and well-kent cheerleaders. Later she revealed she had managed to speak with both Navratilova and Novotna after the match. “They were so happy for me and that’s when I cried.”

But through all the celebrations there was an endearing honesty and determination from Kvitova. She refused to be drawn on how many more slams she could add now that she had opened her account. She acknowledged that her game was adaptable to all surfaces but even in the warm glow of this triumph and with her vanquished rival claiming she has just been “too good”, she refused to rest on her laurels.

“I know that on the important points I played well and I returned very well but I have a lot to improve. I think a bit of everything. Especially my fitness and my serve. We have a lot of work.”

At a time when the women’s game is looking for a new force to emerge, Kvitova certainly has the mentality to rise above her peers. A first–time slam winner and already plotting her route to more.