Tennis: Kvitova's meteoric rise heralds new era

It scarcely seems appropriate to talk of Petra Kvitova "flowering". Her forehand meets the ball like a cedar branch whipped by a typhoon. Even so, her maiden Grand Slam final last night not only confirms the blossoming of her formidable talent, but also contributes to a broader renewal.

Kvitova's meeting with Maria Sharapova guarantees the youngest Wimbledon champion since her opponent's precocious success here in 2004. Sharapova is now 24; Kvitova, meanwhile, was one of three 21-year-olds to complete the semifinal line-up.

With so little tennis between them in the past year, the Williams sisters are easily excused their failure to seal a 10th success in 12. At 29 and 31, it would indeed have reflected bleakly upon the next generation, had Serena and Venus fared much better after prolonged injury. As it was, their expulsion suggested a new era.

Some have sought to present the proliferation of different contenders during their absence as evidence of a void in genuine star quality, but it is not always easy to recognise the dawn of a new era. Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade and Margaret Court won their first Slam titles within seven months. The last time there were four younger semifinalists here was 2003, when Serena, Venus, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin averaged 21 years and six months.

As winner of three Slam titles, Sharapova sets Kvitova an exacting standard. In her ferocious march to the final, Kvitova has exhibited all the energy and belief of youth, unimpaired by past battles. It is only now, on the biggest stage of her career, that vulnerabilities will also be examined.

Sharapova acknowledges that inexperience can be a double-edged sword.

"You almost have that feeling of nothing to lose and you go for it," she said. "I didn't really know what was going to happen [in 2004]. I knew I was facing a former champion. But that didn't really bother me."

Sabine Lisicki duly won the first three games of their semifinal, before Sharapova brought her experience to bear.

She had herself abetted Lisicki with some deplorable serving and accumulated 13 double faults through the match - as many as Kvitova in the entire tournament.

That is one auspicious measure of the Czech left-hander's temperament. If her nerve holds, she can also be expected to seize upon any slackness. Kvitova's instinct is to attack hard, and attack early. With 39 return winners, she has hit nine more than any other player and 17 more than Sharapova before last night's final. At the same time, the all-out power game will keep her on the perilous margins of error.

She compares her game to that of Juan Martin del Potro. "We both play flat and fast," she said. "We go for the point." Kvitova was ranked 62 when beaten by Serena in the semifinal in last year's tournament - before which she had never even won a match on grass - and is demonstrably on the rise. Now ranked eighth in the world, she is one of eight compatriots in the top 100; and, following Tomas Berdych last year, becomes the second consecutive Czech to make a final here. The last left-hander to win the Venus Rosewater Dish was her idol, Martina Navratilova, by then a naturalised American. But she was Czech by birth, of course, and together with Jana Novotna, Hana Mandlikova and Ivan Lendl provided both legacy and example.

So Kvitova has the blood; the power. Will she have the mind?

- INDEPENDENT