By Chris Oddo | Thursday, July 3, 2014

 

Petra Kvitova overcame early pressure from Lucie Safarova to prevail, 7-6(6), 6-1, and reach her second career Wimbledon final.

Photo Source: Clive Brunskill/Getty

In an unprecedented year for Czech women at Wimbledon, Petra Kvitova will represent her nation in the final.

More: The Rising Tides of Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard Will Meet in the Wimbledon Semis

The 2011 champion overcame an inspired fight from Lucie Safarova in the first set, then rushed to victory down the stretch, closing out a 7-6(6), 6-1 victory to reach the final at the All England Club, three years after she raised the collective curiosity of the tennis world when she stormed to her maiden Grand Slam title in 2011.

“It’s great definitely,” said Kvitova, who now owns a 25-5 record at the All England Club. “I don’t have the words to describe my feelings right now. It was a tough match mentally as well, because Lucie is a good friend of mine.”

For the first time in the Open Era, Czech women had placed three in the quarterfinals of the same major, and for the first time since 1986, two Czechs had reached the semis, but by the time the dust had settled on Thursday, Kvitova showed why she is the cream of the crop of Czech tennis. She answered all of Safarova’s queries with hard, pinpoint serving and clutch, aggressive ground strokes, and though Safarova threatened at times to introduce drama, each time Kvitova was there to ensure that things didn’t get too interesting.

Kvitova raced out to a 2-0 lead in the opener only to drop the next three games as Safarova, playing in her first career Grand Slam semifinal, got her bearings and took the fight to Kvitova.

Safarova would stay competitive for the rest of the set, eventually dropping a tense tiebreaker when Kvitova followed up a perfect body serve with a forehand winner to snatch the tiebreaker.

In the second set Kvitova would open up a 3-0 lead, and after Safarova held for 3-1, Kvitova would save a break point in the next game for a 4-1 lead and never look back.

In defeating Safarova for the sixth time in six career matches, Kvitova finished the day with eight aces, 24 winners, and broke serve on three of six opportunities.

She hammered a backhand winner to close affairs, and after a subdued celebration, met with her good friend and Fed Cup teammate for a heartfelt exchange at the net.

“I know how it feels when you hold that trophy,” said Kvitova. “I really want to win my second title here, and I’ll do everything I can.”

She will face the winner of today’s second semifinal between Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard in Saturday’s final.