The ascendancy of Czech athletes on the WTA Tour is nothing new to fans who have followed the tour over the past few years. Their growing presence in the sport has been evident in the domination of the Fed Cup, winning three out of the last four titles, and being the favorite to make it four out of five in 2015. Week in and week out the beloved blue triangle with red and white arms of a flag can be seen repeatedly dappling any draw of both main tour and challenger events, with a seemingly endless supply of teens and young twenty-somethings being added to the rankings list every week. As the tour approaches the penult of the grass court season at Wimbledon, one can not look past the distinct chance that this Wimbledon could be all about the Czech woman.
The Chances of Czech Women at Wimbledon
Defending and two time Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova leads the brigade of Czech women as one of the only players on tour with the fire power and style to challenge Serena Williams on the grass. Kvitova’s ability to serve with power and variation makes her a nightmare to break on the slick grass of Wimbledon. Couple this serving ability with power off both the forehand and backhand side, it is easy to see how her game has won two Wimbledon Championships and as to why she could be the main rival to Serena Williams. Although it has been well documented that Kvitova sometimes struggles with the limelight and hustle and bustle of major tourneys, she seems to thrive at the quiet hallowed grounds of these grass courts tucked into the sleepy, quaint hamlet of Wimbledon. If Kvitova can heal quickly from the illness that lead her to drop out of Eastbourne, she will definitely be a favorite to ruin Williams’ march to a calendar year Grand Slam.
Lucie Safarova has had a blindingly good eighteen months that has lead to a career high ascension in the rankings and culminated with a French Open runner-up finish earlier this month at Roland Garros. Safarova’s ascension in the ranking began last year at this very slam where she advanced to the semifinals before losing to the aforementioned Czech compatriot Petra Kvitova. Safarova, long plagued by untimely occurrences of nerves and yips on tour, has seemed to quail the doubts that have haunted her over the past year and a half, using her variety and power off the forehand side to find ways to win matches. Even in moments where it seems as if Safarova is on her last proverbial leg in a match, she centers herself and finds a way to compete, just as she did at Roland Garros against Serena Williams in the final, coming back from a set and double break down to force the match into three sets. Adding the fact that she is halfway to a calendar doubles Grand Slam (having won the Aussie and French Open with Bethanie Mattek-Sands), and tha she has reached a career high ranking of #6 in the world, her confidence is seemingly at an all time high as she enters the fortnight of the Championships Wimbledon and another deep run in the tournament would not be a surprise.
Along with the veterans of the Czech Republic, there is a strong class of emerging talent. Karolina Pliskova enters the Championships at Wimbledon at a career high ranking of #11 and as runner-up in the Aegon Classic at Birmingham. She lost in a hard fought three set final to Angelique Kerber. Long heralded for her powerful, flat groundstrokes many experts expected Pliskova to have a breakout season on the grass this year, and she hasn’t disappointed. Pliskova has never advanced beyond the 2nd round at Wimbledon, nor past the 3rd round at any other major, but seems primed for a deep run this year. In Birmingham, Pliskova used her big serve and fierce competitive nature to ward off both rain delays and nerves to reach the final. At 6’1, Pliskova’s game is similar to that of the mighty Kivitova, and it would be expected that she is capable of a Slam coming out party like Kvitova had in winning her first Wimbledon title from seemingly out of nowhere in 2011.
Beyond the top three Czechs you have an armada of veterans and young-guns alike all capable of making runs into the draw on this surface. Although Barbora Strycova and Lucie Hradecka have found a majority of their success on the doubles court, they have also had singles success. Strycova (#28 in the world) and Hradecka (#52 in the world) both have had previous grass court success. Last season Strycova reached the finals at Birmingham and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Hradecka herself has been a finalist in women’s doubles at Wimbledon. Last week 18 year old Katerina Siniakova advanced to the quarterfinals of Birmingham where she lost in three sets to eventual champion Kerber. She too has flat powerful ground strokes with a penchant for flair on the grass courts. Katerina Pliskova (Karolina’s twin), Tereza Smitkova (reached the 4th round last year), and Denisa Allterova are other Czech 20-somethings ranked in the top 100 with a chance to make a name for themselves at these Championships.
Wimbledon has long been a lush green sanctuary for women of the Czech Republic. Besides Kvitova, Martina Navritilova, and Jana Novotna have both hoisted the Venus Rosewater Dish above their heads (Hana Mandilikova was a runner up in 1986) and with games groomed for aggression and precision, this current generation of Czech women seemed likely to add to their country’s historic legacy at this penultimate slam of importance. As the Championships Wimbledon draw near and proceed, it will be interesting to see which Czech women carry the flag of the nation into the second week.
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