Petra Kvitova became the first player to make the Wimbledon quarter-finals yesterday with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 win over Carla Suarez Navarro.
After the high-profile departures of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova in the first week, Kvitova sneaked through on Court Three before the main fourth-round action started on the show courts.
It was not all plain sailing for the 2011 champion, who has yet to rediscover the consistency that took her to world No. 2 20 months ago.
Photo: Reuters
“I was pretty nervous today ... I didn’t play my best, especially in the first set, but it’s important to win the last point which was what I did,” Kvitova told a news conference.
Suarez Navarro, the last Spanish woman in the draw, harried her from the baseline, moving fast, returning early and chasing down the Czech’s groundstrokes.
Eighth seed Kvitova, 23, broke the Spaniard’s serve and should have finished off the first set in the 12th game, but nervy shots allowed Suarez Navarro to break back, using her rare and elegant single-handed backhand to stinging effect.
Photo: AFP
With big names like the injured Victoria Azarenka and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki gone, Kvitova was clearly feeling the weight of expectation.
“Everybody is talking about that I’m the highest seeded player in my half, I’m supposed to be already in the final. It’s not really easy to hear that,” she said.
However, the statuesque Czech’s power eventually proved too much for her more diminutive opponent and she pressured Suarez Navarro into slapping a forehand into the net to take the set 7-5 in the tiebreak.
This seemed to energize Kvitova and she bowled through the second set in 34 minutes, using her big serve, long reach and strength to quell her opponent.
Kvitova will play 20th seed Kirsten Flipkens in the quarter-finals today after the Belgian sealed her first Grand Slam quarter-final berth with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 victory against Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta.
Li Na narrowly missed out on handing Italian Roberta Vinci the dreaded double bagel as the Chinese sixth seed romped into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-0 victory.
The 2011 French Open champion served for the first set at 5-0 up, but was broken by the doubles specialist, who raised loud cheers on Court Three as she finally won a game.
Vinci, seeded 11th, held her next service game, but from then on Li was unstoppable as she won the next seven games to reach the last eight.
In the men’s singles David Ferrer wore down Croatia’s Ivan Dodig with his high-energy scrambling to move into the quarter-finals with a 6-7 (3/7) 7-6 (8/6) 6-1, 6-1 win.
The fourth seed arrived 10 minutes late on Court Two and was slow to impose himself on the match, losing the first set in a tiebreak before winning the second the same way.
Dodig could not maintain his consistency as the match wore on and his serve faltered to allow Ferrer to turn the screw.
After failing to win a point on the Dodig serve for four successive games in the second set, Ferrer broke three times in the third and twice in the fourth to wrap it up.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and China’s Peng Shuai beat Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand and Daria Jurak of Croatia 6-4, 6-4 to reach the last 16 of the women’s doubles. The No. 8 seeds will face Jelena Jankovic and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni for a place in the semi-finals after the Serbian-Croatian duo beat No. 4 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-3, 6-2.
Additional reporting by staff writer
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely