Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova claimed their second Wimbledon titles over the weekend, though the two players had contrasting paths to victory. While Kvitova enjoyed one of the easiest final wins in recent memory, Djokovic withstood one of the toughest battles of his tennis career before sealing a return to the world’s #1 spot.
Djokovic had not been in vintage form throughout the championships, dropping sets here and there and appearing less than happy with his own play at times. But he peaked at the right time, producing a typically gritty display to win a memorable semi-final with Grigor Dimitrov to set up a final against third seed Federer.
And what a final it was. Rarely in the match did either player have any momentum, the two pegged close throughout the four-hour encounter. Two of the first three sets went to tie breaks, with Djokovic managing an additional break of serve to claim the second set. By the time he had built a 5-2 lead in the fourth set, he had broken the serve of Federer twice more than the six other opponents of the Swiss player had managed. But on the cusp of defeat Federer raised his level once again, reeling off five consecutive games to level the match with some audacious shots and net-charging that left his opponent looking briefly beaten.
By the fifth set it was impossible to predict a winner, though it seems that in the end it was Djokovic’s refusal to lose that saw him over the finish line. After losing his last three Grand Slam finals, the 2011 champion was determined to repeat as runner-up, and wanted a win to silence the doubters. He admitted to having to calm himself, and to playing the latter stages of the fifth set point-by-point, so as not to think about the score, or the legs that were beginning to fail and required repeated attention from the trainer after a series of heavy falls.
Then in the 10th game, Federer’s faithful serve finally let him down, and Djokovic broke though, ending what he called “the best Grand Slam final I have ever played.” A seventh Slam title for Djokovic - his first under coach Boris Becker – signals and end to a testing 18 months, and the dawn of happier times, with a new baby due, an imminent wedding, and a return to the summit of the sport.
Transatlantic ladies’ finals have been commonplace at Wimbledon in recent years, with Venus and Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport racking up 17 final appearances between them since 2000. The early exit of the Williams sisters (Venus bowed out in the third round after what was arguably the match of the tournament to Petra Kvitova, while Serena followed the next day with an out-of-sorts three set loss to Alizé Cornet) opened the door for Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard to continue her meteoric progress.
Having reached her first Grand Slam semi-final in Australia at the start of the year, she followed up by repeating the feat at Roland Garros before taking a step further at Wimbledon, becoming the first Canadian player ever to feature in the championship match, which, against Kvitova would be the first Grand Slam final to feature two players born in the 1990s.
But while Bouchard may have won more Slam matches than any other woman in 2014 so far, Kvitova’s greater experience as a former champion was evident from the early stages of their final battle, with the Czech playing flawless tennis to earn her second Wimbledon title in just an hour of play, and for the loss of only three games. Even she professed to be surprised at the standard of tennis she produced, saying, “A few shots were incredible, I couldn’t believe I made them. I said to myself, ‘oh my God, this is good’. I was there 100 percent, ready for everything.”
Doubles
Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci captured the ladies’ doubles title to complete a career doubles Grand Slam and celebrate their return to the #1 ranking in style. The Italians struggled in the early stages of the tournament but hit their stride by the end, dominating opponents Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic to concede just four games in the championship decider, becoming the first Italians ever to win a Wimbledon title.
The men’s doubles title saw further success for Canada as Vasek Pospisil teamed with America’s Jack Sock to lift the trophy after an unforgettable five-set victory over the heavily-favoured Bryan twins. Playing together for the first time at a Grand Slam, Pospisil & Sock upset a series of the most successful doubles teams to reach the final, taking out seeds Bopanna & Qureshi, Peya & Soares and Paes & Stepanek before denying Bob & Mike Bryan the chance to extend their career record of 15 Grand Slam titles.
The mixed doubles title went to seasoned veterans Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and Sam Stosur of Australia. The 15th seeds eased past Max Mirnyi (BLR) and Hao-Ching Chan (TPE) in straight sets to record what was a second Wimbledon mixed win for Stosur, while Zimonjic completed a full set of mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.
Juniors
Noah Rubin beat Stefan Kozlov in the first all-American boys’ singles final since 1977 to become the first US winner of the title since Donald Young in 2007. Kozlov later suffered another disappointment when he returned to the court alongside Andrey Rublev of Russia for the doubles final. The top seeds were outlasted 8-6 in the final set by Brazilian pair Orlando Luz & Marcelo Zormann.
There was an all-European girls’ singles final as unseeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia took on #8 Kristina Schmiedlova of Slovakia, a repeat of the previous week's Roehampton final. Former Les Petits As champion Ostapenko recovered from a poor start to dominate by the end of the match, producing 40 winners and winning the last six games to record her first Junior Slam title.
The girls’ doubles final went to Tami Grende of Indonesia and Qiu Yu Ye of China, who beat Maria Bouzkova of the Czech Republic and 2012 Junior Masters champion Dalma Galfi of Hungary 6-2 7-6(5) in a battle of two unseeded teams.
If this year’s Roland Garros was characterised by emerging stars making waves, only for established greats to cling on to the silverware, Wimbledon continued that trend. But with the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic, Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard edging closer to glory, 2014 looks set to be a year of transition. It remains to be seen whether the likes of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams can recapture the form that has taken them all to multiple Grand Slam titles in recent years, but if they do they can be certain that at the next one – the US Open – they will face greater competition than ever.
Roll of Honour
Men’s Singles
(1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) d. (3) Roger Federer (SUI)
Men’s Doubles
Pospisil (CAN)/Sock (USA) d. (1) Bryan/Bryan (USA) 76 67 64 36 75
Women’s Singles
(6) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (13) Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) 63 60
Women’s Doubles
(2) Errani/Vinci (ITA) d. Babos (HUN)/Mladenovic (FRA) 61 63
Mixed Doubles
(15) Zimonjic (SRB)/Stosur (AUS) d. (14) Mirnyi (BLR)/Chan (TPE) 64 62
Boys’ Singles
Noah Rubin (USA) d. (6) Stefan Kozlov (USA) 64 46 63
Boys' Doubles
(3) Luz/Zormann (BRA) d. (1) Kozlov (USA)/Rublev (RUS) 64 36 86
Girls’ Singles
Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) d. Kristina Schmiedlova (SVK) 26 63 60
Girls’ Doubles
Grende (INA)/Yu Ye (CHN) d. Bouzkova (CZE)/Galfi (HUN) 62 76
Men’s Wheelchair Doubles
(1) Houdet (FRA)/Kuneida (JPN) d. (2) Scheffers/Vink (NED) 57 60 63
Women’s Wheelchair Doubles
(1) Kamiji (JPN)/Whiley (GBR) d. (2) Griffioen/Van Koot (NED) 26 62 75