Wimbledon 2014: Petra Kvitova inspired by 'fan' Navratilova
- Published
Wimbledon 2014 on the BBC |
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Venue: All England Club Dates: 23 June to 6 July |
Coverage: Live on BBC TV, HD, Red Button, Radio 5 live, 5 live sports extra, online, mobile, the BBC Sport app and Connected TV. |
Petra Kvitova was thrilled to have Martina Navratilova's support as she won her second Wimbledon title.
Kvitova beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-3 6-0 to regain the title she won in 2011 and claim her second Grand Slam victory.
Fellow Czech Navratilova, a nine-time winner of the title, was watching from the Royal Box on Centre Court.
"She's a legend," said Kvitova. "She's really huge in the Czech Republic. Everywhere, actually. I'm just glad that I have this huge fan."
Asked if she could imagine one day winning nine titles, the 24-year-old added: "It's not my goal. It is something I don't think that I really can achieve."
Kvitova said she had been "in the zone" as she thrashed Bouchard, who was making her Grand Slam final debut.
"Definitely it was one of the best matches I played," said Kvitova. "I knew that I could play well on the grass, but I really played so well today. I knew exactly how I had to play to beat her."
At 55 minutes, the final was the quickest since Navratilova beat an 18-year-old Andrea Jaeger in 1983.
Shortest Wimbledon women's singles finals |
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1975 - Billie Jean King beat Evonne Cawley 6-0 6-1 in 38 minutes |
1972 - Billie Jean King beat Evonne Goolagong 6-3 6-3 in 50 minutes |
1973 - Billie Jean King beat Chris Evert 6-0 7-5 in 53 minutes |
1983 - Martina Navratilova beat Andrea Jaeger 6-0 6-3 in 54 minutes |
2014 - Petra Kvitova beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-3 6-0 in 55 minutes |
1992 - Steffi Graff beat Monica Seles in the 6-2 6-1 in 58 minutes |
1974 - Chris Evert beat Olga Morozova 6-0 6-4 in 59 minutes |
"I'm just glad it was in two sets," added Kvitova, who sealed victory before the rain arrived and the roof was closed. "In the end, I was quite lucky."
Bouchard, 20, could not cap her remarkable rise over the last 18 months with a first major title in only her sixth Grand Slam tournament.
She conceded her opponent had "played unbelievable and didn't give me many opportunities", but added: "I don't think I felt overwhelmed.
Former champion Lindsay Davenport |
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"You always dream of playing your best tennis on the biggest stage and that was a thing of beauty. You can't even blame Bouchard. She didn't play badly but she just didn't get the chance to play because Kvitova didn't allow her to. I don't think anyone would have been able to play her today." |
"As soon as we started hitting and the match started, I felt a bit more in my element. Things didn't go my way, but I enjoyed being on the court."
Bouchard had made history as the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam singles final, and is the only player to have made at least the semi-finals in the singles of all three major tournaments in 2014.
"I definitely got outplayed, and I felt that way after the match, but I'm still holding my head up," she added.
"I feel like I've come a long way and I'm proud of what I've achieved not only this week but this year as well."
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