The colour was back in Petra Kvitova’s face on Sunday, good news for the Czech as she tries to become the only woman not named Williams to successfully defend the title at Wimbledon in the past 20 years.
As the world No2, the left-hander is the most likely woman, on paper and in reality, to stop Serena Williams from winning her fourth successive grand slam event. But, as she prepares to deal with the nerves that come with being the holder of the most prestigious title in the sport, Kvitova knows exactly how hard it will be to stop the American.
“I think Serena has really great chances to do it,” Kvitova said, referring to Williams’ quest for the calendar year grand slam, with the first two slams, from Australia and France, already in her pocket. “I think she is a really big champion. She’s always trying to find good form for the important points.”
Unlike many of her rivals, Kvitova does not fear Williams, even if she has lost five of their six meetings, including both on grass here, in 2010 and 2012. Her lone win came last month in Madrid where Kvitova won the title, a victory that can only give her confidence should they meet in the final a week on Saturday.
“For sure, for me that was a great win,” she said. “I never beat her before so for me it was a good match. I really played well. I knew what I had to do. That’s what I think is the key if I want to beat her.
“Every match with her is different. It doesn’t mean if you beat her once you are going to beat her again. It’s not like that. Serena is one of the players [who] you can really beat, but not every day.”
As Maria Sharapova said on Saturday, it is the consistency that separates Williams from the rest, along with her power and mental strength. The likes of Kvitova know that on their best day they have a chance; if Serena is at her best, they rarely do. The Czech, who starts against Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, goes into the tournament having not played a match on grass this year, after her withdrawal from Eastbourne last week. With the perfect game for grass, Kvitova will not have forgotten how to play on the surface but her first match is bound to be a nervy affair, at least at first.
“The preparation, because I got sick, wasn’t perfect,” she said. “But I’m trying to find good form. I hope on Tuesday I will be ready 100% but of course I missed a few days of practice. The pressure, the nerves are going to be there for sure, doesn’t matter whether I was sick or not. Still, when I step on the court on Tuesday it will be the same feelings. It will be very tough and nervous.”
Mentally, Kvitova should be fresh, which is crucial for her chances, not least since she took two months off the Tour in March and April due to what she and her team have described as mental exhaustion. Feeling empty and not enjoying her tennis, or training, was translating to the match court but thankfully she made the decision to have a break, missing Indian Wells and Miami, two of the biggest events outside of the four grand slam tournaments. It was a bold choice but a good one.
“I think a lot of athletes want to have a break but they didn’t do it,” she said. “But I feel much better than before. I’m really happy to be back on the court to play tennis, to really do what I love. That’s the important thing. I recharged some batteries, for sure. I am really glad I am able to compete. I think it was a really tough decision for me to miss the two big tournaments during March. I’m glad that I did it. I just felt exhausted and tired from everything, so that’s why.”
Williams has been playing down talk of the pressure being on her as she chases grand slam title No21, not to mention the calendar year grand slam and a fourth straight major. It’s not always easy to believe her, at times, when she speaks of being free of pressure, but certainly she looked pretty relaxed on Saturday night when she joined Taylor Swift on stage at a concert in Hyde Park. Now that’s how to prepare for Wimbledon.
