London, July 3:
Former champion Petra Kvitova swept into her second Wimbledon final with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 victory over fellow Czech and close friend Lucie Safarova on Thursday.
Kvitova won her only Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2011 and the sixth seed is one more victory away from lifting the Venus Rosewater dish for the second time after seeing off 23rd seed Safarova with 24 winners and eight aces in 80 minutes on Centre Court.
The 24-year-old is back in a Grand Slam final for the first time since that surprise triumph against Maria Sharapova at the All England Club three years ago.
Kvitova will play Canadian 13th seed Eugenie Bouchard or Romanian world number three Simona Halep in the final on Saturday.
“It’s great, definitely. I have a lot of emotion from this match,” Kvitova said. “It was a tough match mentally because she is good friend of mine and we know each other well on and off the court. I knew she would play her best tennis and she did. Happily I won.
“I tried to be focused in the tie-break then I broke early in the second set and served well after that.”
As the only former Grand Slam winner left in the women’s tournament, Kvitova knows she has a glorious opportunity to finally get her hands on some significant silverware again.
“I know that feeling when you have the trophy,” she added. “I really want to win my second title and I will do everything I can on Saturday.”
Kvitova has been in fine form over the last fortnight, dropping just one set en route to the final and was playing in her third Wimbledon semi-final. (Agencies)
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