Kvitova digs deep but is denied fairy-tale ending
Crowd favourite treated for fatigue during defeat Former champion was recovering after surgery
Petra Kvitova, the tournament and sentimental favourite, has been knocked out of Wimbledon after suffering a surprise 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 defeat at the hands of the unseeded American Madison Brengle.
Wimbledon is frequently described as a magical venue, but not all fairy tales can come true here. In December, Kvitova had her fingers in her racket hand lacerated by a knife-wielding intruder during a home invasion. Her surgeon described her comeback as a “miracle”. The 27-year-old won the Aegon Classic in Birmingham last month in just her second tournament back, which led to her being installed as the bookmakers’ favourite in the absence of the pregnant Serena Williams.
But the lack of recent tennis came at a cost. After fighting back to take the second set, Kvitova seemed to wilt in the near-30 degree heat on Court No2. A trainer was called to check her blood pressure and she appeared to be in a lot of discomfort.
“All day I felt a little bit tired, but always I’m saving the energy,” Kvitova said. “So I thought, OK, it’s OK.
“In the warm-up or beginning of the match I felt not really anything badly. But then when the match got longer and longer, I felt a little bit sick and tired. So I couldn’t really move. I was so slow. I felt like, I don’t know, like an animal. But a very slow animal. I fought, and I’m not sure what’s happening, actually. I could not just breathe, and I was feeling a bit sick as well.
“No one knows how hard I had to work to be back, so probably that feels more disappointing than normally it is. But on the other hand, it’s been great to be here again. It was my goal to play this event this year, and that’s what I did.
“I’m glad it’s over, actually. I mean, it was really tough, and I feel just really empty right now. I know my body, it’s not great, but mentally I’m really glad that it’s over. I mean, it was kind of a fairy tale, but on the other hand it was very tough.”
Brengle, who had never previously won a singles match at Wimbledon before this year, proved an awkward opponent with her serve. Although Kvitova hit 36 winners she was undone by her 50 unforced errors. By contrast, Brengle hit 12 winners to 16 unforced errors.
Her previous claim to fame was defeating Serena Williams earlier this year, when she was caught on camera saying that the world No1 was “surprised at how bad I am”.
It was a bad day for the female seeds in general. With the remainder of the second round to be played today, 13 seeds have now fallen. In addition to Kvitova, who was the No11 seed, Barbora Strycova (22), Elena Vesnina (15), Anastasija Sevastova (18), Carla Suarez Navarro (25) and Madison Keys (17) were eliminated yesterday.
Another shock seemed to be in the offing when Venus Williams, the five-time Wimbledon champion, dropped the first set to China’s Qiang Wang before coming back to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Kvitova’s exit means that Williams, who broke down in tears on Monday when asked about her involvement in a fatal car accident, is the sole remaining champion in the draw. She also made a small slice of history by competing in her 97th match at the All England Club –