Maria Sharapova failed to close the deal Saturday, losing the Wimbledon final in decisive fashion to the younger upstart, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4.The result was no fluke. Kvitova's fierce, snap forehand struck the lines with regularity, while Sharapova continued to struggle with her own serve and oddly enough failed to mix speeds on her groundstrokes.
Kvitova fed off the pace, very comfortable from the baseline. Her worst mistakes instead came on those rareoccasions when she was lured toward the net.Kvitova's victory was another in a long string of triumphs for Czech players, dating back to Jaroslav Drobny in 1954. Women champions Jana Novotna and Martina Navratilova were both in the box watching Kvitova, along with Czech-born Martina Hingis.
"To stand here with such great players in the box, of course I was nervous," Kvitova said, sobbing a bit after the victory. "They supported me and gave me some advice."
Kvitova broke Sharapova in the sixth game of the first set with considerable help from her Russian opponent, who double-faulted twice after 30-all. In the second set, the women traded shaky service games and four successive breaks before Kvitova settled down. She won the match with a 105mph ace, then fell to her knees in disbelief.
Kvitova, seeded eighth here, is the third lefty Czech Wimbledon champion - along with Drobny and Navratilova.
