In the first all-lefty Grand Slam semifinal in 22 years and the first all-Czech one since 1986, the 2011 champion Petra Kvitova squeezed past compatriot Lucie Safarova in the first set and cruised through the second to reach the final of Wimbledon with a 7-6(6) 6-1 victory.
The sixth-seeded Kvitova opened the match by breaking her opponent, but the 23rd-seeded Safarova quickly brought things back on serve in the fourth game, leveling to 2-2, and appeared at ease in her first major semifinal, holding her serve well until it was 6-6. However, her negative record in tiebreaks against Kvitova continued to haunt her and after saving one set point she succumbed to Kvitova, making her record in tiebreaks against Kvitova 0-4.
Statistics proved to be telling once more in this semifinal, as Kvitova entered the second set with 54-8 record at Grand Slams when winning the first set and 21-1 at Wimbledon, and cruised past Safarova after claiming the tight opener.
Kvitova’s opponent in the championship match will be either Simona Halep or Eugenie Bouchard. (photo: Moo’s Tennis Blog)
