Petra Kvitova (click to enlarge)
When Petra Kvitova won Wimbledon 2011 many, including me, thought that was the beginning of a run to the #1 ranking for the enormously talented young Czech player. Certainly, she’s turned out to be one of the greatest players on tour, winning multiple titles each of the past three years (2011-2013). However, she hasn’t made that rise to the top of the rankings. When she’s hitting on all cylinders, she looks unbeatable. But that Petra doesn’t always show up. She was impressive running through Mona Barthel 6-2 6-0, setting up a showdown with another former Wimbledon champion, Venus Williams. Kvitova will need the same focus to handle the former world #1. She’s still only 24, so there is still time to become the player many envisioned her to be. I give Mats Wilander credit. Towards the end of this interview he asks Petra directly about her inconsistency. And to her credit, she doesn’t dodge the question.
Petra Kvitova (click to enlarge)
Agnieszka Radwanska was equally impressive in taking out Casey Dellacqua, 6-4 6-0. As usual, Aga was an exquisite shot maker. Casey has actually had some decent results lately, but once Radwanska started to roll, there was no keeping up. But I do give Dellacqua credit for fighting back after Aga built a 5-1 first set lead. There’s not as much buzz about Aga as I think there should be. She’s reached the final and semifinals the past two years. I think it will be tougher to repeat that this year, but she’s definitely among the players capable of a deep run.
Victoria Azarenka departs (click to enlarge)
To the last point, Victoria Azarenka kept fighting in her match against Bojana Jovanovski. The problem is that in only her third match back after a long injury layoff, she just isn’t back to being as sharp in big moments as she is when she’s healthy and match-tough. She actually didn’t play poorly in her contest against against Bojana. Sure, she hit 26 errors. But she also had 46 winners. It was a tight match that could have gone either way. However, when it counted, Jovanovski pulled it out, 6-3 3-6 7-5. Vika had 16 break opportunities and cashed in only 3 times. If she were on her game, it’s likely she would have closed Bojana out in straight sets. But coulda, shoulda, woulda doesn’t count for anything. When you step on court, you’re either ready or you’re not. Vika wasn’t. Bojana was, and she moves on.
ALL PICS CLICK TO ENLARGE
2 LI NA (won 6-2 6-2 vs Yvonne Meusburger)
4 AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA (won 6-4 6-0 vs Casey Dellacqua)
6 PETRA KVITOVA (won 6-2 6-0 vs Mona Barthel)
BOJANA JOVANOVSKI (won 6-3 3-6 7-5 vs 8 Victoria Azarenka)
10 DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA (won 3-6 6-3 8-6 vs Alison Van Uytvanck)
16 CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (won 6-3 6-2 Naomi Broady)
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