Saturday, July 5, 2014

Wimbledon Day 12 highlights: Kvitova crushes Bouchard

PETRA KVITOVA
2014 photo by Paul Bauman
   Women's final -- Sixth-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic whipped 13th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 6-3, 6-0 in 55 minutes for her second Wimbledon title. Kvitova, a 6-foot-2 (1.82-meter) left-hander, dominated the 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Bouchard with her power and sharp angles. Lindsay Davenport, the 1999 Wimbledon champion, described it as “some of the best tennis I have ever seen.”
   It was the most lopsided Wimbledon final since Steffi Graf thrashed Monica Seles 6-2, 6-1 in 1992. Kvitova became the first woman to win a set at love in a Wimbledon final since Venus Williams wore down Justine Henin 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 in 2001. Kvitova, by the way, came within two points of losing to Williams in the third round this year.
   Kvitova, 24, played in her first Grand Slam final since outclassing Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon three years ago. Bouchard, 20, became the first Canadian in a major singles final.
   Kvitova lost early in this year's first two Grand Slam tournaments. She fell to then-No. 88 Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand in the first round of the Australian Open and to 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the third round at Roland Garros.
   Men's final -- Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Roger Federer (4), Sunday, ESPN, 6 a.m. California time (live).
   Both players are desperate to win another Grand Slam title. Djokovic, 27, won the last of his six major crowns in the 2013 Australian Open. He has lost five of his last six Grand Slam finals. Federer, who will turn 33 next month, seeks his first major title since winning Wimbledon two years ago. This is also his first Grand Slam final since then.
   Federer, who owns a record 17 Grand Slam singles crowns, can break the Wimbledon record of seven that he shares with Pete Sampras (1993-95, 1997-2000) and William Renshaw (1881-86, 1889). Djokovic will play in his third Wimbledon final. He beat Rafael Nadal in 2011 and lost to Andy Murray last year.
   Federer leads the head-to-head series 18-16. He has met Djokovic only once on grass, winning in four sets in the 2012 Wimbledon semifinals.
   Notable -- Second-seeded Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci of Italy became the fifth women's team to earn a career Grand Slam, routing 14th-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-1, 6-3 with no unforced errors. Errani and Vinci have won five major championships.
   U.S. report -- Unseeded Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil, playing in their first tournament together, edged top seeds and defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 for the men's doubles title. All but Pospisil, a Canadian, are American.
   The 36-year-old Bryan twins, who last year came within two match victories of becoming the second men's team to achieve a calendar-year Grand Slam, still seek their first major title this year with only the U.S. Open remaining. They own a record 15 Grand Slam men's doubles crowns, including three at Wimbledon.
   It just goes to show that anything is Pospisil. ...
   In boys singles, sixth-seeded Stefan Kozlov and qualifier Noah Rubin will meet in an All-American final.
   Kozlov, 16, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., topped eighth-seeded Johan Sebastien Tatlot of France 6-3, 7-6 (7). Rubin, an 18-year-old resident of Rockville Centre, N.Y., beat unseeded countryman Taylor Harry Fritz 6-4, 6-2.
   Kozlov also reached the doubles final with Andrey Rublev of Russia. They are seeded first. ...
   Unseeded Usue Maitane Arconada of Puerto Rico and Fanny Stollar of Hungary lost in the girls doubles semifinals. 
   Northern California connection -- Bouchard's coach, 58-year-old Nick Saviano, earned All-America honors at Stanford. Bouchard visited the Sacramento area several times in World TeamTennis, including last year as a member of the Texas Wild.
   The Capitals announced in February that they were moving to Las Vegas after 28 years in the Sacramento area. But the team folded the following month when owner Deepal Wannakuwatte was charged with conspiracy and mail, wire and bank fraud. ...
   Sock reached the singles quarterfinals and doubles final (with Nicholas Monroe) in the 2011 Sacramento Challenger at 19 years old. ...
   The Bryans helped Stanford win the NCAA team title in both of their years on the Farm, 1997 and 1998, and captured the NCAA doubles crown in 1998. ...
   Rubin lost to second seed and eventual runner-up Tim Smyczek 7-6 (3), 6-0 in the first round of last year's Sacramento Challenger.
    Fast fact -- Sock, 21, became the third-youngest player to win Grand Slam titles in men's doubles and mixed doubles in the Open era. At 18, the Lincoln, Neb., native captured the mixed championship with American Melanie Oudin in the 2011 U.S. Open. John McEnroe and Todd Woodbridge won both titles by age 20, with McEnroe being younger.  
    Quote -- Kvitova, on fellow Czech native Martina Navratilova's record nine Wimbledon singles titles: "I've a lot of work to do if I want to win as many of these as Martina."

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