LONDON–It was the first all-Czech Wimbledon semifinal when sixth seed Petra Kvitova faced off against twenty-third seed Lucie Safarova. Kvitova won in straight sets 7-6(8), 6-1.
Safarova challenged Kvitova in the first set, and the ladies were evenly matched. They broke each other once and won the majority of their first serve points. Right when a spectator thought Kvitova had it, Safarova would come back with a point. The set literally went back and forth until Kvitova sealed it with a forehand.
The first set must have worn out Safarova because she was not the same player in the second set. The set was slightly closer than the score since Safarova often forced deuce, but Kvitova shined. She broke Safarova two times, won all of her net points, and had ten winners. She was vibrant and fast while Safarova was slow and tired. It was the first time Safarova dropped a set at Wimbledon this year.
“It’s great,” Kvitova said after the match. “It was a tough match mentally because Lucie is a great friend of mine. I am just happy that I won. I tried to be focused from the start of the second set and I managed to break her service in the first game and just kept it going and I served well.”
This is Kvitova’s second time to the Wimbledon final. She defeated Maria Sharapova in 2011 in straight sets.
“It’s the best tournament in the world,” she told reporters with a huge smile.
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