By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, June 25, 2014

 

Venus Williams and Petra Kvitova set the stage for a heavily anticipated third-round battle with straight-sets victories Wednesday.

Photo Source: Kieran Galvin/CameraSport

On the back end of a relatively uneventful week one at Wimbledon, things are starting to heat up in the women's draw.

Venus Williams found her way through a tricky encounter with Japan’s Kurumi Nara on Court No. 3, fighting back from 3-0 down in the opener and then reeling off six consecutive points from 4-1 down in the first-set tiebreaker en route to a 7-6(4), 6-1 victory.

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Williams, heating up as the match progressed, lashed 46 winners to only 16 for her opponent and attacked efficiently, winning 14 of 21 points at the net.

Meanwhile, on Court 1, Petra Kvitova ran roughshod over Germany’s Mona Barthel, 6-2, 6-0 to set up what will be one of the most heavily anticipated third-round matchups on the women’s draw.

The two former Wimbledon champions will meet for the fifth time, and if their third-round encounter is any bit as good as their previous four, fans at the All England Club will be in for a treat. Kvitova leads the career head-to-head with Williams 3-1, but all four encounters have been pushed to a decider and the last two have reached a winner-take-all tiebreaker (Tokyo 2013 and Doha 2014).

Kvitova managed to slip by the intrepid Williams in both tiebreakers, but with Williams in solid form again, the seven-time Grand Slam champion promises to be quite the handful for the tall, left-handed Czech. Let’s not forget that good things tend to happen when Williams steps on the grass at the All England Club. She’s amassed 73 career victories at Wimbledon, more than any other active player, to go with her five titles.

But Kvitova is no slouch on the slippery green ryegrass herself. She’s 21-5 for her career, and has been to at least the quarterfinals in each of her last four appearances, winning her lone title in 2011.

Today Kvitova was downright ruthless against Barthel, hammering down seven aces and saving all five of the break points she faced. She also kept the scoreline tidy, with 25 winners to her name against only 9 unforced errors.

While a third-round meeting between Williams and Kvitova is a dream encounter for most fans, it also is a shame that the two Wimbledon super powers will be meeting so early in the draw. A quarterfinal might be more appropriate for such an enticing battle, but such is the way of the draw, so we best accept it and prepare to enjoy what is sure to be a high-octane battle for a spot in the second week.