2011 Wimbledon Women’s Recap: Kvitova Serves Her Way Through to Championship to Meet Sharapova

June 30, 2011 | By Monica Gorny
Petra_Kvitova_Pic

Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic took the tennis world by surprise this morning as she powered her way into the 2011 Wimbledon Championship match beating fourth seed, Belarus’s Victoria Azarenka, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. This is Kvitova’s first appearance in a Grand Slam final, and the first appearance of a lefty in any women’s Grand Slam final since 1998 when Monica Seles reached the final of the French Open.

Kvitova’s powerful, lefty serve proved to be the dominant factor throughout the match. She hit a total of nine aces with an impressive three-ace streak in the final game of the first set. The Czech clearly indicated how pleased she was with the way she served. "All match it was around both serves, so I’m very happy my serve was good in the third set.”

Azarenka attempted to halt the Czech’s dictating game by breaking serve early in the second set and holding serve to even the match at one set apiece. However, Kvitova took quick control of the third set, hitting series of winners and aces and burdening Azarenka with the pressure of having to counterpunch. The Czech hit an astounding 40 winners throughout the match compared to a mere nine from Azarenka.

Kvitova will face Russia’s Maria Sharapova who today defeated Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, a Wimbledon wild card entry, 6-4, 6-3. Sharapova, who has not lost a set so far at this year’s Wimbledon, had 18 unforced errors and only 14 winners. Lisicki was on the opposite end of the spectrum with 18 winners and 14 unforced errors. Sharapova’s last trip to the Wimbledon finals was in 2004 when she upset top seed and defending champion Serena Williams.

In their only previous meeting, Sharapova defeated Kvitova in straight sets on an indoor hard court at Memphis last year.

The 2011 Wimbledon women’s final will be played on Saturday, July 2.

Summary of women’s semifinal matches:

►Petra Kvitova (CZE)[8] defeated Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[4] 6-1, 3-6, 6-2

►Maria Sharapova (RUS)[5] versus Sabine Lisicki (GER) 6-4, 2-0 UNFINISHED


Monica Gorny
Oneononedoubles banner art resize
USTA NTC

January/February 2024 Digital Edition