Petra Kvitova went into the Wimbledon final today feeling just a bit nervous. And you should be, going on to play the most important match of your life, especially since your opponent is the former champion and favorite to win the title, Maria Sharapova. But as soon as she stepped on the court she felt fine and ready to battle for the biggest title in tennis.
Petra took control from the start, using her lefty advantage and that serve out wide that has troubled many of her previous opponents. She took the first set with a score of 6-3. The second set started off in her favor once again as the Russian player couldn’t find any way to get the Czech player on the ropes. There were a couple of hiccups on the serve of Kvitova in the middle of the set as Kvitova served 3 double faults to give Sharapova a couple of breaks, even though she had none in the first set. Kvitova still had a huge advantage as she kept Sharapova guessing on where her serve would go and also her penetrating groundstrokes gave Sharapova a lot of trouble controlling each point.
Finally it came to match point and what better way to finish it off than with an ace. Kvitova raised her arms in victory and knelt down to kiss the grass. With Martina Navratilova watching from the Royal Box as well as many other great champions such as Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Billie Jean King, Kvitova felt very blessed to be supported by her childhood idol and gave thanks to Martina for all of her great advice. She also gave a shout out to her parents and her trainer during her little speech.
Sharapova of course handled her loss with grace and congratulated Kvitova on her win, stating that she was just too good today. A champion should handle losses with poise and Sharapova did just that today. Both players then made a lap around the court with their trophies and Kvitova came out of the tennis club to get her picture taken by fans that were waiting outside the doors of the club, as many others have done before her.
Congratulations to both players for their grace and composure and to Kvitova especially for winning her first Grand Slam. Bravo!
Yesterday we witnessed an amazing upset on center court where six time champion Roger Federer lost in five sets to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.3-6 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-4.
This was the first time Roger Federer has been up two sets to love and lost the match.
I know you have probably already read some amazing roundups of the match, so Im not going to run through it all again. I just wanted to say Congrats to Tsonga! Jo-Wilfried you probably played the match of your life today!
Bernard Tomic has been on an amazing roll this Wimbledon campaign. Tomic who is only 19 has performed well above expectations and will now face Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Tomic knocked out Xavier Malisse yesterday in straight sets (which was incredible). Xavier is an amazing player on grass, but it seemed like Tomic was a class above. However, I think it is going to be too much of a step up to match Novak Djokovic on the grass. We will find out tomorrow!
Bjorn Borg and Tim Henman look back at some of the memorable outfits from Wimbledon’s history. What do you think is the best Wimbledon outfit of all time?
Do you want to watch Wimbledon 2011 on your iPhone or Blackberry? Well all you need to do is download the free Wimbledon iPhone application or head to m.wimbledon.com on your Blackberry. Everything is completely free and you can check out the latest results, current matches, stats, stores and more.
Last week you might have noticed that there were limited posts about Wimbledon 2011, this was because I was on holidays (I know what a stupid time to have a holiday). Anyways, I noticed that Bernard Tomic has been the surprise packet of Wimbledon 2011 so far.
I remember about 6 years ago when I was back home in Australia, I used to help coach Tomic when he was only 11. Tomic was a leading junior with great talent (however, his father was a nightmare!) and he started receiving coaching at the academy where I played and coached. Great things were expecting from Tomic for many years and now he is showing the world what he can do.
Tomorrow at Wimbledon Tomic will take on Xavier Malisse in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, after he defeated Robin Soderling (5) in the previous round. Im hoping he can keep this amazing run alive.
Its brilliant to see a young Australian player getting some good results. Australia has been lacking heavily in the Mens game for many years now. Tennis Australia needs to wake up and help more juniors make it to the next level.
Andrea Petkovic uploaded the video with this message:
“This is what the species of pro tennis players does when it rains in Wimbledon and they don’t know what to do with their life. Starring Novak Djokovic, Viktoria Azarenka and myself, Petkorazzi. Somwhere you will find Ivo Karlovic who is trying to be professional by exercising something. Enjoy!”
It was all glamour at the Pre-Wimbledon Party of 2011. The women stars of the game got dressed up and this year it was particuarly interesting with each of the players wearing an outfit that was designed by a British designer. Let’s take a look at some of the girls who headlined the show.
Jelena Jankovic wore a Vivienne Westwood dress
Ana Ivanovic wore a Matthew Williamson dress
Maria Sharapova wore an all Alexander McQueen ensemble.
Serena Williams wore a Burberry gown.
Betanie Mattek-Sands surprised everyone with a dress made by one of Lady Gaga’s designers
Caroline Wozniacki wore a Stella McCartney dress and who also designs her on-court dresses as well.
Other players who were at the party include Li Na (wore Giles Deacon); Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (wore David Koma); Andrea Petkovic (wore Richard Nicoll); Heather Watson (wore Mulberry); and Laura Robson (wore Temperley). Nicholas Kirkwood provided shoes for the occasion.
Kim Clijsters has officially withdrawn from Wimbledon 2011.
Kim said in a statement:
“I’m very very disappointed to have to withdraw from Wimbledon after injuring my foot again at the tournament in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. At this moment I feel frustrated that it has to happen now before one of my favourite tournaments. I’ve always enjoyed being a part of the Wimbledon atmosphere but I have no other choice now but to rest, recover and to not play tennis for a few weeks.”
These are the top 32 seeds for 2011 Wimbledon singles championships. It is going to be a very interesting tournament considering that Roger Federer and Andy Murray are in great form on grass.
If you are looking for somewhere to watch Wimbledon live streamed on your computer, well look no further than ESPN3.com. ESPN3.com will have free live streaming for the whole of the championships.
Here is the TV Schedule for Wimbledon 2011 in the USA.
*All times Eastern
Mon, June 20
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 1 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Tues, June 21
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 2 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Wednes, June 22
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 3 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Thurs, June 23
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 4 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Fri, June 24
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 5 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Sat, June 25
7am – 1pm: Early Rounds Day 6 – ESPN2 - LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Sun, June 26
*NBC WIMBLEDON BROADCAST TBD
5pm – 8pm: Week One Highlights – ESPN2 – Taped
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Mon, June 27
7am – 10am: Round of 16 – ESPN2 – LIVE
1pm – 6pm: Round of 16 – ESPN2 – LIVE
12:00am Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Tues, June 28
7am – 10am: Ladies’ Quarterfinals – ESPN2 – LIVE
1pm – 5pm: Ladies’ Quarterfinals – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
12:00am Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Wed, June 29
7pm – 10am: Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals – ESPN2 – LIVE
1pm – 5pm: Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
12:00am Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Serena Williams is scheduled to make her return to professional tennis today. Williams will compete in the Eastbourne tournament and is amazingly happy to be back playing tennis after her illness layoff.
Expect both Williams sisters to be strong contenders again at this years Wimbledon that starts next week.
Andy Murray and Andy Roddick are getting ready for the Queens Club tournament next week. Both players have had some injuries during the clay court season, but they are both very keen and looking forward to Queens and Wimbledon.
This year the Wimbledon men’s semifinals and men’s and women’s finals will be aired live in 3D.
I dont really know why this is a big deal, because most people are yet to have a 3D enabled tv set (me included).
The deal was announced Monday as part of the Wimbledon’s multiyear partnership with Sony.
All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie says “Wimbledon is renowned for its heritage and sense of tradition. At the same time we are always looking for ways to improve the presentation of the championships by successfully blending that tradition with innovation.”
