2014 Wimbledon Final: Bouchard vs. Kvitova

[sk310]

I think I actually voted for Petra in 2. I imagined that the weight of the situation would get to Genie, even though I wanted her to win.

Ultimately I hoped Genie would win because when a player like Petra wins it is a bit like Kuznetsova's slams. We know she's always dangerous but chances are she will show up every few years win the whole thing then disappear into inconsistency. 3 years ago I had such great hope that Petra would be one of the future greats. She let me down too many times for me to hope and root for her. That being said, watching her is really nice. She has such a hard game but you can see in her eyes how fragile she is. Congratulations to her.

I really hope this loss doesn't let mental blocks and inconsistency creep into Genie's game.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

Yes, I'm not surprised that she won easily, although I wouldn't have expected such a scoreline. But when playing well Kvitova is simply much better on grass with the serve and the first strike than Bouchard (and probably anybody else other than Serena and Venus in good form and maybe Lisicki at her best).

You never know if Kvitova will play well from one match to another, but when she makes a final she much more often plays at a high level than not in it.

I second that. Coming into Wimby with 18-10 record for the year, losing to Simona in Madrid semis(best results for her this year), I never expected her to make this. Her withdraw in Eastbourne was concerning too.

Kudos to Bouchard too, she has made a name for herself in all majors this year, no one has done that or can take that away from her.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Congratulations Petra!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great display of tennis and you deserved your 2nd Wimbledon Title.

Eugenie had a great Wimbledon as well making the final....well done Eugenie.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Congratulations to Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci who completed their Grand Slam Collection in winning the Ladies Doubles defeating Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 61 63

Great achievement Sara and Roberta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[shawnbm]

I get the feeling doing it a second time might jump start a strong rally by Petra--she could start becoming more consistent. I'm confident Eugenie is going to continue to go deep at majors and will win multiple big ones.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Huge Kudos to Petra. Job well done. I just came home to watch the taped match and Genie never had a chance. The bagel set is surprising in that most of the games went to deuce and Petra was always the winner of the important points. Great tactics by her and her coach as well.

Genie, well, chin up. Future is bright and keep working and keep learning from the experiences, positive or negative.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I have to post this tweet from Ben Rothenberg

Petra is also the first player in WTA history to successfully recover from Radek Stepanek....

Pure Gold Ben.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

if anyone wants to see the match, it should be accessible via this link:

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/id/1917371/

It's under one hour.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Glad to see so many had confidence in Genie's abilities, but I had a feeling the weight of the situation was going to stunt this match and it did. Now, can Petra actually put together a string of good showings will be the next question or will she waffle?

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

^ Good question Sundaymorningguy....Petra has a new mental coach Michael Safar and I really give him credit this fortnight,Petra really kept her emotions in check and didnt implode.I really was impressed with Petra in the match she played against Venus in the 3rd rd.She kept her calm and focus.To me after that match she just got better.In the final she played the type of tennis I knew she could play.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

^ Good question Sundaymorningguy....Petra has a new mental coach Michael Safar and I really give him credit this fortnight,Petra really kept her emotions in check and didnt implode.I really was impressed with Petra in the match she played against Venus in the 3rd rd.She kept her calm and focus.To me after that match she just got better.In the final she played the type of tennis I knew she could play.

I don't know that this tournament was a good judge of Petra's new found "mental" abilities. I think we will see what her focus and mental strength is made of when she encounters say an in form Sharapova, Azarenka, or Serena Williams who will push back. She has a good record against Venus; even though, all of their matches have gone 3 sets, but Petra is winning them.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

^ I agree with your thoughts regarding Petra against players like Sharapova,Azarenka and Serena.
I guess we will have to wait and see.

 

[rubydo]

Had trouble getting on the site earlier, not to think I was sulking all this time. It was totally evident that Eugenie was in deep trouble from the start of the match, even if the first set was 3-6. Petra was ferocious, her play was stunning, 82% first serves won!!
Eugenie was embarrassed, but nevertheless it was still worth getting up at 5am for Breakfast at Wimbledon. Oh yes one Canadian did win today, Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Stock in doubles, beating the number team Bryan Brothers in five gruelling sets.:clap

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

^ I also had troubles getting on to this site Rubydo,glad to know I wasnt the only one.I just gave up in the end and watched the final alone with my 2 cats.

Genie had a great Wimbledon fortnight making the final.I am certain we will see Genie in future finals.

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuhbmbUb19I[/video]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApxUDL8fHgQ[/video]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZwTSgU5Cjs[/video]

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xB548S_5eU[/video]

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rFUXUlvjIA[/video]

 

[sk310]

I actually don't think Petra's danger will be against those players. Her biggest opponent is always herself. Yes there are players with better strategic game than her but really in the times she loses badly it's always kind of inexplicable. She rarely loses because she played her very best tennis and couldn't beat the other player. Now I would be really interested to see if she can keep up this level and how others fare against it.

I think we'll need until about the Australian Open to see if her consistency is here to stay. If I remember correctly she played decently for most of 2011 after Wimbledon, right?

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Interesting stat from the final,

The previous time a runner up won only three games in the Wimbledon final was 1992,Steffi Graf defeated Monica Seles 62 61.Before that,it hadn't happened since 1983,Martina Navratilova defeated Andrea Jaeger 60 63.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Kvitova's career record of 26-5 at Wimbledon translates to an .839 winning percentage,compared to her marks of .667 at the three other majors and .681 at all other events.