THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON

[CR2] Petra Kvitova (CZE) vs. [CR30] Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

Jankovic defeated defending Champion, Kvitova, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Jankovic got revenge for one of the two losses she suffered earlier this year to Kvitova. I enjoy watching Jankovic play. She lets you into to her thoughts and feelings.  She will demonstrate with hand signals her frustration or a wry smile of disgust.  If you miss that, she often talks to the crowd telling them exactly what she’s thinking/feeling. She was ranked number one at the end of 2008. A slew of injuries saw her ranking dropped precipitously. She is struggling to maintain her motivation at this stage in her career and has not won a title since 2013.

Although Jankovic comes close, making it to finals, that lack of motivation perhaps contributes to her inability to take that extra step to victory. It appeared to be headed that way again today.  Kvitova won the first set, was up an early break in the second, and serving well.  Then inexplicably her game fell apart and Jankovic took the opportunity to get back on serve.  Serving to send the set to a tiebreak, Kvitova failed to hold serve again and Jankovic was back in the match. The entire dynamics of the match changed after Jankovic won the second set. Jankovic proceeded to play with fearless abandon and Kvitova became tentative, the effects of pressure perhaps?