A glistening performance by Kvitova
Defending Wimbledon champ has no problems with heat as she cruises to 6-1, 6-0 win
WIMBLEDON— There’s an expression: Horses sweat, men perspire and women glisten.
At the All England Club, ladies also get the vapours, apparently.
That’s the consideration which, under the brutal temperatures scorching both competitors and spectators, has led to invocation of the Heat Rule.
To wit: Allowing the distaff side of the ledger a 10-minute break between the second and third set when the heat stress index is at or above 30.1 C, as it was Tuesday.
So ladies and girls get a timeout, while men and boys have to soldier on, though the gentlemen can play to five sets while the ladies max out at three. Wee bit of reverse sexism there, no? No, says defending women’s champion Petra Kvitova.
“We have this rule all year. You should probably ask boys if they want it or not. If the guys want it, they should fight for it.”
The helter-swelter proviso — implemented here twice before, in 2006 and 2009 — was, in fact, adopted more than two decades ago after lobbying by the Women’s Tennis Association. There’s been no indication the guys feel themselves victims of discrimination.
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer shrugged off melting temps as innate to the sport.
“In Australia we’ve had some moments. But here, in Europe, seriously, on clay, grass, problems never come. We can play these kinds of conditions because we’re used to it.”
It should be noted, though, that a couple of ball boys have dropped.
Didn’t seem to have any affect on Kvitova, however. The powerful lefty burned rubber on grass through her opening-round match against Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens in a blistering 36 minutes — fastest denouement in at least the last five years on the women’s circuit: 6-1, 6-0. The first set was over in 18 minutes, so quickly Kvitova almost thought she should apologize to Centre Court fans, a crowd that included her parents on a quickie visit from the Czech Republic. “I have to say sorry to them. But I think they are happy anyway.”
Kvitova has been claiming up and down that she was riddled with nerves launching her title defence. No trace of those either on this afternoon. “I will be quite happy if every nerves going to be like this.”
The 25-year-old two-time Wimbledon champion withdrew from Eastbourne last week, citing a viral illness. That’s clearly passed for the No. 2 seed. “I think in the first round, every time you are like, big, big favourite of the match . . . standing on the court, it’s a lot of expectation, not only for yourself but the people around, the media and everything.”
The heat — sticking with that theme — may have been a factor in the sometimes lumbering performance of British No.1 and 2013 Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. The Scotsman, seeded third, was handed a solid test by Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kakushkin and made fans twitchy over the course of a two hour and 13 minute encounter, albeit prevailing in three sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
“It was a tough match. I made it hard for myself in the second set. Towards the end of the second set I missed 10 or 11 first serves in a row, so I gave him the opportunity to be aggressive.”
Meanwhile, Federer barely worked up a perspiration slick in his comprehensive 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 banishment of Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, 10 years his junior at age 23. The elegant Federer’s sublime shotmaking was on full display as he smoothly knocked off 26 winners.
“Of course you try not to have any hiccups early on,” said the Swiss ace, competing at his 17th Wimbledon. “For me, the most important thing in the early rounds is to play in a way that allows me to keep the same level later on in the tournament.”
First-round action also proved for Rafael Nadal a return to the form that took him to five finals and three titles here in years past. A poor run this season on the clay courts where he’s historically thrived — crashing in the quarter-finals of the French Open that he’d all but owned — had many wondering if the 29-year-old crowd-pleasing wattage had begun to irreversibly dim. Not on the evidence of his 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Thomas Belluci, beating the Brazilian for the sixth time in a row.
The Spaniard is seeded a lowly — for him — No. 10 at Wimbledon. Hasn’t been in that nether region for a decade.
“I am No. 10 because I deserve to be No. 10. When you are injured for six months and you come back and you are not able to play great, No. 10 is a great number. Being No. 10 is great news. That’s the real thing, no?”
Somebody give the man a Coke.