Petra Kvitova will win Grand Slam titles in the future but she may have to bow down to the experience and desire of Maria Sharapova in Saturday's Wimbledon final.
The story of this year's Wimbledon Championships has not been the early exit of Roger Federer or the Williams sisters nor has it been Andy Murray's annual flirting with the men's final but the headline news has been the return to the pinnacle of women's tennis of Maria Sharapova.
The Russian, who burst onto the scene at the All England Club seven years ago, when aged just 17, looked to be heading for an early retirement in 2008 when a serious shoulder injury caused her to miss almost ten months of competitive action and drop to 126th in the world rankings. Sharapova's mental strength and desire have seen her fight back and move back into the top ten and she reached her first Grand Slam semi final in over three years at Roland Garros last month and she has followed that up by reaching the final of Wimbledon 2011.
The 24-year-old will face one of the rising stars of women's tennis, Petra Kvitova, on Centre Court on Saturday and it promises to be an exciting and entertaining match at SW19. The Czech has been on an upward curve in the last twelve months and has achieved career bests in each of the last five Grand Slam tournaments she has competed in, beginning with last year's Wimbledon.
Kvitova is, however, not yet experienced in top level tournaments, with her first win coming in this year's Madrid Masters and there are definite question marks over how she will handle the pressure of Centre Court. She lost in straight sets in the semi finals to Serena Williams last year and if she starts badly, the number eight seed could let her head drop and it could end in a straight-forward win for Sharapova.
'Mimi' has dispatched each of her six opponents at Wimbledon in straight sets, with only Britain's Laura Robson pushing her to a tie-break in the second round. She has been ruthless in her other matches and the key factor has been the stability of her serve, which has let her down over the past two years. If that can hold on Centre Court, then there may well be little that Kvitova can do to stop Sharapova from reclaiming her crown as the queen of women's tennis.
It is currently 8/15, at
bet365, that Sharapova beats Kvitova, with a straight sets win for the Russian an 11/8 chance and both of those look like solid bets. The best value is, however, in the handicap market, where the fifth seed is evens to win by more than 2.5 games. This bet will win if Sharapova wins in two sets, while it also offers some insurance, should Kvitova manage to claim one of three.
Recommendation
Match Handicap (-2.5 Games) - Maria Sharapova (Evens,
bet365)
