The Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova, 21, stunned the tennis world, defeating favored Russian Maria Sharapova to win the Wimbledon women’s title. Kvitova, a tall lefthander playing in her first Grand Slam singles final, dominated the match Saturday at the All England Club in London, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Some tennis analysts had expected Sharapova, the world’s fourth-ranked player and the 2004 Wimbledon champion, to notch her fourth Grand Slam title. But it was Kvitova, ranked eighth in the world, who ascended from her semi-final finish at Wimbledon last year to the title. Kvitova’s groundstrokes often caught Sharapova leaning the wrong way. Sharapova had six double faults in the match and won just 27 percent of her second serves.
As a youth, Kvitova idolized Czech tennis great Martina Navratilova, the last lefthander to win at Wimbledon in 1990. Navratilova watched Saturday’s match from the Royal Box along with another former singles champion from the Czech Republic, Jana Novotna. Kvitova said she was grateful for the support of the former Czech champions and said they “gave me some advice.”
Sharapova on her facbook page: “Well my 10 week European tour ended with a tough loss today, but as I look back on this trip I am really proud of the tennis I played and I am even more motivated then ever. BIG congrats to Petra and I welcome her to the grand slam club.”
Another story for the Serbian, Novak Djokovic. Djokovic’s victory over Rafael Nadal at the All England Club legitimised his status as the No 1, as had Nadal been this summer’s Wimbledon champion, he would have won five of the last six slams, and would have held three of the four majors, and there would have been quibbles.
The Sebian’s victory over Nadal was about winning another major, to add to the Australian Open titles he won in 2008 and again this January, but it was also about continuing his hold over the Spaniard by beating him for the fifth time in five meetings this year.
No one could refute the argument that Djokovic has been a better player than Nadal so far this season, but should the Majorcan retain his title in New York on Sept 11, the pair would finish the year with two slams apiece.
Maria Sharapova vs Sabine Lisicki betting is a great semi final event, although it is a little bit of a surprise. Well, half of that line up is anyway. Russian Sharapova, who went into the tournament as joint favourite, is certainly living up to her role. It really is hard to poke holes in her game at the moment, because she is just playing some of the best tennis of her career.
Victoria Azarenka vs Petra Kvitova betting should produce a thriller. Azarenka is one of the most in form players on the WTA at the moment, while Kvitova is getting better and better all the time. So let’s start with Azarenka. Followers of our tennis betting guides on these pages will know that Azarenka has long been a favourite of ours here. That is because she represents great value as she still has an air of unpredictability about her.
The top seeded player and the world No.1, Caroline Wozniacki has easily entered into the next round of the Wimbledon 2011 by defeated Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain 6-2, 6-1
The defending champion, Serena Williams was forced to work hard against Aravane Rezai to enter into the second round of the tournament. She beats Aravene Rezai 6-3 3-6 6-1.
Also on Tuesday at Wimbledon, this year’s champion in Rome (and the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open, and 2008 Australian Open champion), Maria Sharapova of Russia defeated Anna Chakvetadze 6-2, 6-1
Number 262 ranking in the world Melinda Czink of Hungary surprisingly defeated the 2010 French Open finalist Samantha Stosur from Australia 6-3, 6-4
#11 Andrea Petkovic def. #139 S Foretz Gacon 6-3, 6-4
#18 Ana Ivanovic def. #87 Melanie Oudin 6-0, 6-1
#20 Shuai Peng def. #110 Kirsten Flipkens 6-0, 6-4
#25 Daniela Hantuchova def. #170 V Diatchenko 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3
Venus Williams returns to Wimbledon with victory against Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-1 with impressive seven aces at up to 118 mph with 23 winners total at the All England Club.
Also on Monday at Wimbledon, the 2010 Wimbledon US Open finalis Vera Zvonareva from Moscow, Russia, defeated Alison Riske from Hilton Head, South Carolina, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
This time last year Francesca Schiavone slipped out of Wimbledon after losing in the first round, exhausted by the effort and the after-effects of her dramatic French Open triumph. She beats Jelena Dokic 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
#12 Svetlana Kuznetsova def. #85 Shuai Zhang 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
#35 Sara Errani def. #17 Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 6-4
#19 Yanina Wickmayer def. #86 Varvara Lepchenko 7-5, 6-3
Form: It has actually been a bit of a barren year for the Spaniard so far, and that is down to Novak Djokovic. Nadal has lost out to the Serbian in three finals this year, but has gained the majority of his success on clay anyway this year. That is where Nadal is at his best, and although we didn’t see Nadal really on top of his game at the French Open recently, you would expect him still to perform. Fully capable of winning even when not at his best, because players still have such a hard time breaking down his defence.
Form: Probably in the best form of the season so far. He actually looked pretty sharp at the French Open, even though he was flying under the radar for most of the tournament. He’ll have enjoyed that, especially being the only man to beat Novak Djokovic this season. Was supposed to play in Halle, Germany, one of his favourite tournaments, but withdrew because his staff decided that his groin needed a rest and wasn’t worth aggravating ahead of Wimbledon.
Form: You cannot fault the form of Novak Djokovic during 2011. He has only lost one match all year, and no one else in the field can touch that kind of form. That naturally makes him a huge threat, and he looks the complete player at the moment. Has collected four titles this year along the way, so there is likely more to come this year. He did pull out of Queen’s though after the French Open because he was nursing an injury picked up in the tournament. Hopefully it won’t affect him at Wimbledon.
The tall young Russian (yes she is only 24 even though it seems like she’s been around forever) will have one of the best chances since returning from her 2009 shoulder injury, to land a Wimbledon title. Sharapova is good on grass, and should be well rested after withdrawing from Birmingham ahead of action at SW19. There is a feel good factor about her, as she is arguably playing the best tennis since her shoulder injury for the last sixth months now, and is getting better. A change of coach has done her well, and a win in Rome proceeded her best ever result at Roland Garros, a losing semi finalist. It does feel like there is more to come from Sharapova and the grass courts and wide open field at Wimbledon. Worth a bet.
Failed to get past Vera Zvonareva on her come back tournament at Eastbourne. It was an epic though and she had her chances. Even though she will not be as match sharp as some of the other ladies on the tour for Wimbledon, her power alone will carry her through. She has an amazing first serve, something which is an advantage at Wimbledon, and the power in her forehand and backhand shots is unrivaled. It says a lot about her that she goes into the tournament as joint favourite despite a whole lack of tennis having been played. Definitely going to be a threat and helped by going in as seventh seed. Would expect to see the defending Wimbledon champion in the quarter finals, the only question mark is over her lack of match sharpness.
It has been a great year for the late bloomer Na Li, and the fact that she starts as third seed as well as third favourite for the tournament is to her credit. The Chinese star reached her first career Grand Slam final at the Australian Open earlier in the year, but fell in the final to Kim Clijsters. She defied expectations at Roland Garros recently when she went one better, beating defending champion Francesca Schiavone in the final. That was a big triumph for her, and now people are really taking notice of her. She is a powerful hitter, lacks a bit of finesse that the likes of Sharapova will bring, but pounds away at opponents. Popular figure and with the flatter bounce of grass, her ground strokes will cause a lot of problems. Is she good enough to win back to back Grand Slams or make three Grand Slam finals in a row?
There is much hype naturally surrounding both of the Williams sisters as they get back into contention in the WTA after injury and health problems. While sister Serena has landed herself in the top eight seeds, Venus is down at 23rd seed and therefore her route to the final will be a lot tougher. Getting into the top eight seeds means that other top seeds will be avoided until the quarter finals, so Venus will have a tougher path. She lost in the quarter finals of Eastbourne in her comeback tournament, but shouldn’t be totally counted out of 2011 Wimbledon tennis betting. She found Daniela Hantuchova just too resilient to get past there, but at least it was a couple of games under her belt. Naturally talented, naturally powerful and should still make an impact. Not as much of a chance as Serena you would assume.
What is this? The world number one way out here in double figures for your 2011 Wimbledon tennis betting? Yep, that is because of the return of the Williams sisters, combined with her inability to confirm her number one status by landing a Grand Slam. It is well worth taking Wozniacki at this price because she is the top seed for the tournament, and you know the inevitable is going to happen sooner or later. It would be fitting to see her do it upon the return of both Williams sisters. Critics say she is only where she is in the world standings because of their absence. There would be no better way to shut them up than to win here right now. Think she is a valid bet and incredible value for a top seed. Fully capable, and will go deep.
One of our favourites here who ramped up her season form ahead of Roland Garros. Really put herself in a winning position there, but surprisingly lost to Francesca Schiavone in the semi finals there. Really expected Azarenka to land her first Grand Slam there but it wasn’t to be. Always a dangerous threat and in the best form of her career. Immensely talented and has gotten a much better grip on her emotions when playing. Pulled out of Eastbourne in her quarter final match because of injury. She is prone to injuries and that could be her downfall here. Capable of beating the best in the world. Consistency is the only question.
The Russian star should be a bigger threat than she is. She will be chomping at the bit to get back to the Wimbledon final. She reached the final there last year but could not get any kind of handle on Serena once there. Zvonareva then went to the final of the next Grand Slam, the US Open last year, but ran into the same problem against Kim Clijsters. Zvonareva is not playing as well as she was during that period, and the Russian, full of emotion will remain on the periphery. Lost out to Sam Stosur in the quarter finals of Eastbourne as a warm up.
Hello world it is always great to be back on grass every year. You know what? Wimbledon is really coming up soon! Everyone is absoultely excited and so am I. I’ll be keeping a half-weekly updated blog about progress at the Wimbledon. The preliminary entries include my bracket picks and pre-tournament projections. As the tourney goes on, I’ll update about how my picks are working out as well as provide new insight about matchups. Hope some of you enjoy this.
