London: Petra Kvitova stormed to her second Wimbledon title in the shortest women’s final since 1983 as the Czech sixth seed crushed Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0 on Saturday.
Kvitova, who first won Wimbledon in 2011, took just 55 minutes to end her three-year wait for a second Grand Slam crown, leaving shell-shocked world number 13 Bouchard helpless to repel a brutal barrage of 28 winners and four aces on Centre Court.Playing in her first Grand Slam final since her maiden triumph at Wimbledon, the 24-year-old Kvitova produced a brilliant display of power-hitting to secure the 12th career title.
Fittingly, Kvitova’s breathtaking performance came in front of her childhood hero Martina Navratilova, whose 54-minute win against Andrea Jaeger 31 years ago was the last Wimbledon final to take less time than this ruthless demolition.“I can’t say it’s more special but after three years to be back here with the trophy is so special,” the former World No.1, Kvitova said.
After struggling to cope with the fame and increased expectations that came with her first Wimbledon triumph, Kvitova has finally recaptured the thrilling form that brought her that breakthrough success.The left-hander dropped just one set in her seven matches en route to lifting the Venus Rosewater dish for the second time and will rise to fourth in the world rankings next week.
While Kvitova celebrated, Bouchard, the youngest finalist at a major since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009, was left to lick her wounds after a chastening defeat in her first Grand Slam final.The photogenic and fiercely competitive Bouchard, named after Princess Eugenie by her royalty-obsessed mother, has been widely compared to Maria Sharapova and this was supposed to be her coronation as the queen of Wimbledon.
“It was really tough for me today but I am proud of how I have played for these two weeks,” Bouchard said.Kvitova was unloading some searing groundstrokes and Bouchard, no slouch in the power stakes herself, was unable to respond as the Czech stormed to a 5-2 lead with breaks in the third and seventh before sealing the set in the ninth.There was no sign of Kvitova letting up in the second set and a crushing overhead left Bouchard almost ducking for cover as it fizzed over her head.
As statements of intent go, it was a resounding success and Bouchard, rapidly losing her stomach for the fight, tamely surrendered her serve as Kvitova completed the most clinical final victory Wimbledon had seen for decades.
