Petra Kvitova saved a set point in the first set tiebreak, and then saved another set point in the second today when she won the New Haven championship match against Maria Kirklenko. It was a very good match--quite deserving of its final status--and it showed just how much Kirilenko has worked on her already-admirable game.
Commentator Rennae Stubbs--observing Kvitova's second set fatigue, when she "went off"--kept asking what was wrong with the Czech player. Has she never seen Kvitova play?! Kvitova (who didn't drop a set in New Haven) often takes a hard road to get to the end, and sometimes the end just isn't what she had expected. Today, though, she came back more than once to defeat the clever and hard-hitting Kirilenko 7-6, 7-5.
Kvitova, the winner of the U.S. Open Series, won in both Montreal and New Haven.
Top seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond won the doubles championship, defeating 2nd seeds Andrea Hlavackoa and Lucie Hradecka 4-6, 6-0, 10-4.
I was happy for Kvitova although I hope she hasn't played too much going into the Open. But with the heat, the final showed her fitness and she also expressed her conviction by keeping it to 2 sets.
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed with Maria Kirilenko who I have always enjoyed. Her game has improved and I hope that she takes a lot from this match. She played #5 player, a hard-hitter and she was very close to winning. Her serve has become better and you can see the belief. I really think that Wimbledon and the Olympics helped that belief.
I thought it was a great final. And Petra got through without dropping a set. I enjoy both players so much.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about the Russian and Belarussian players that they screech with every shot.Kirilenko begins to follow the likes of Azarenka,Sharapova who should be penalized every time they hit the ball for obstructing their opponents to play and thus never winning even a game,let alone a match!
ReplyDeleteNot sure what you are saying Anonymous. Sharapova and Azarenka's opponents have beaten them on tons of occasions. If their opponents never lost a match then everyone who grunts would win all the matches. Kirilenko lost today and thus did not hamper Kvitova's game. Also it is not just the Russians or Belarussians. If you watched the whole tournament then you would have heard Italian Errani grunt loudly as well as her compatriot in other tournaments, Schiavone. Venus Williams was grunting loudly in Cincinnati and Serena often does too. None of these people have a 100% record so it can't be hampering there opponents and making their opponents lose matches.
ReplyDeleteThe Kvitova bark occurs only after points. It's one of my favorite things about Petra.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting note from Stubbs about Kvitova's bark after a winning point. She said she was actually shouting whatever the word in Czech is for "Come on!"
ReplyDeleteAt least I think she was being serious. Stubbs DID say the actual word she was talking about... and it did sound like Kvitova might have been shouting it.
I've heard that several times from others, and I'm pretty sure it's true. But by the time it gets to my ears, it's just the Kvitova Bark :)
ReplyDeleteShe is yelping, "Pojd!" It is the Czech equivalent of "Come on!" or "Vamos!"
ReplyDeleteSunny nine. The fact that Kirilenko lost does not mean that her shouts did not impair her opponent. Her opponent won despite the screams. But screams are an impediment when they come just as the ball is being struck. The sound of a ball in the center of the racquet is different from the sound of a ball hit on the frame or near the frame. Players gain auditory information about what is coming their way. That info is not available when a loud screech or scream is added to the stroke.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but there's just something amusing about Kvitova on the court. Pam Shriver said yesterday hat she cracks up when Kvitova puts her racquet under her arm and towels off. It isn't what she does--it's her attitude and that look in her eyes. I thought she was very funny when she won the New Haven final.
ReplyDeleteI hear she's reading children's books in English so she can improve her own spoken English. She'll probably end up like Hingis (who now speaks better English than I do), which will take so much fun (for those of us who are English-speaking) out of her interviews, just like it did Hingis's.
Treasure it now while you can: "The Serena," "The Pink," "It is big difficult," and "I will thinking about that next week."