Kvitova wins Wimbledon glory

By Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Wimbledon Venue: All England Club, LondonDate: 20 June-3 JulyCoverage: Live on BBC One, Two, 3D, HD, Red Button, online (UK only), Radio 5 live, 5 live sports extra; live text commentary from 0900 BST on BBC Sport website (#bbctennis); watch again on iPlayer Kvitova beats Sharapova in straight sets (UK only)

Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova outplayed former champion Maria Sharapova to win her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old's shot-making ability proved too much for Sharapova in a 6-3 6-4 victory on Centre Court.

Kvitova is the first Czech since Jana Novotna in 1998 to win Wimbledon, and Novotna and former Czech great Martina Navratilova were in the Royal Box.

"It's hard to find some words," Kvitova told BBC Sport afterwards.

"I'm standing here with the trophy and I see some great players in the Royal Box. It's very nice that Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna are watching me and have supported me all the time during the tournament and gave me some advice."

Kvitova overcame nerves to win at Wimbledon

In a final of eight breaks of serve, it was 2004 champion Sharapova who was under the greater pressure to hold - an issue she has struggled to deal with since coming back from shoulder surgery.

Sharapova suffered a rash of double faults in her French Open semi-final defeat by Li Na last month, and the attack-minded Kvitova was quickly on to any short deliveries.

The Czech was by far the less experienced of the finalists and three-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova looked ready to take advantage of that with an early break, but Kvitova levelled immediately with some piercing returns.

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It was two double faults in a row from Sharapova that shifted the balance of power decisively as it handed Kvitova a 4-2 lead, and although the Russian saved a set point with an ace it did not prevent her from losing the set.

In previous matches, Kvitova had lost concentration after some strong starts, but there was no sign of that when a breathtaking forehand winner down the line gave her a break at the start of the second set.

Sharapova, desperate to return to Grand Slam winning ways, fought back to level at 2-2 with a fine backhand lob and again at 3-3 with a fine return, but the 24-year-old fifth seed just could not get a foothold in her own service games.

She crumbled once again as Kvitova sent back a barrage of heavy returns, and when the Czech held for 5-3 she was almost there.

Sharapova did make her young opponent serve for the title but Kvitova played a nerveless game, moving to 40-0 and choosing championship point to send down her first ace of the day before sinking to the turf in triumph.

"Of course I was nervous in the final game but I hoped that I can win and I had to focus on each point, which was important," said Kvitova, before adding: "I think that was the best match I ever played."

Sharapova said: "Unfortunately there is only one winner at the end of day.

"I have had amazing support over so many years and to be back at this stage and holding the runners-up trophy - I wanted that big one and it's something I'm going to be back for and will get again."

Kvitova powers to crucial second set break

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Djokovic reaches Wimbledon final

By Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at Wimbledon Venue: All England Club, LondonDate: 20 June-3 JulyCoverage: Live on BBC One, Two, 3D, HD, Red Button, online (UK only), Radio 5 live, 5 live sports extra; live text commentary from 0900 BST on BBC Sport website (#bbctennis); watch again on iPlayer Djokovic too good for spirited Tsonga

Novak Djokovic battled past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach his first Wimbledon final and replace Rafael Nadal at the top of the world rankings.

The second seed won 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-7 (9-11) 6-3 in three hours, six minutes.

Djokovic dominated after edging a tight first set but flashes of brilliance kept the Frenchman alive in the third.

However, Djokovic held his nerve in the fourth set and the Serb will go on to face Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final after the Spaniard beat Andy Murray.

The two-time Australian Open winner, who has now lost only one of his last 50 matches, will be aiming to leave SW19 with a third Grand Slam title to go with his new accolade as the world's top player.

He has overhauled Federer, the only person to beat him in 2011, and Nadal to become number oner.

"They don't give you a lot of chances to become number one," Djokovic said afterwards with a smile. "I guess you need to lose only one match in seven months to get there."

Final dream 'comes true' for Djokovic

He is likely to face a more sustained challenge in the final than he faced from the flamboyant Tsonga, who flitted in and out of their clash mixing moments of acrobatic genius with the sloppiest of mistakes and made 29 unforced errors in all.

The powerful 26-year-old, playing in the last four at the All England Club for the first time, attacked from the start and made the most of a tense opening by Djokovic that saw him broken when he sent a wild forehand flying long.

Tsonga survived repeated pressure on his own serve but cracked when he was serving for the set at 5-4, gambling on a 133mph second serve that failed to clear the net and being broken back when he put a forehand wide.

More mistakes followed in the tie-break, which Djokovic wrapped up on his second set-point when Tsonga flopped a routine volley into the net.

The second set was a one-sided affair, mainly because Tsonga's first serve deserted him and Djokovic was able to rip into his slower second delivery, breaking twice to go 4-1 up before wrapping it up in only 28 minutes.

A rapid conclusion to the match looked likely when Djokovic broke again at the start of the third set but Tsonga, helped by his brutal forehand and the backing of the Centre Court crowd, soon returned to life.

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He won three games in a row to go from 2-4 to 5-4 before the pair shared breaks and some thrilling exchanges to take the set to a tie-break.

That proved just as tense, with Tsonga denying Djokovic on two match-points with a smash and an ace before he saw out the set on his third set-point when the Serbian went long with a return.

Tsonga had fought back from two sets down to beat six-time champion Roger Federer in the quarter-finals but his hopes of a repeat were hit when he was broken to love at the start of the first set and soon found himself trailing 1-4.

There was still time for more moments of brilliance from the world number 19, in particular a lob that helped him hold at 2-5, but he could not stop Djokovic serving out to complete a memorable victory.

A delighted Djokovic, who sank to the ground to kiss the Centre Court turf in celebration, told the BBC: "It is difficult to put it into words but it is one of the best feelings I have ever had on a tennis court.

"My dreams are coming true. It will be my first Wimbledon final and I am so happy to be through. Hopefully there will be more celebrations to come."

'Point of the Tournament' three times over

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Nadal confirms Wimbledon fitness

Venue: All England Club, LondonDate: 20 June-3 JulyCoverage: Live on BBC One, Two, 3D, HD, Red Button, online (UK only), Radio 5 live, 5 live sports extra; live text commentary from 0900 BST on BBC Sport website (#bbctennis); watch again on iPlayer The moment Nadal goes down injured

Defending champion Rafael Nadal has said that he will be fit to take on Mardy Fish in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Nadal, 25, had a scan on Tuesday after suffering a foot injury in his fourth-round win over Juan Martin del Potro.

He wrote on Facebook: "I thought I had something serious but as the match went through the pain got better and the tests don't show an injury.

"Today I will practise and I'll play tomorrow. Thanks all for the support."

If the Spanish world number one gets past Fish and British number one Andy Murray beats Feliciano Lopez, the pair will meet in the semi-finals.

After completing an impressive four-set victory over Argentine Del Potro on Monday, Nadal said: "I don't know what the problem is, I will get it checked out. I'm worried for sure.

"At one moment at the end of the first set I thought I might have to retire.

"To hit my forehand was very tough. I felt something really strange when it was at 6-5 in the first set when I called to the trainer. I pushed hard with a forehand and I just felt something crush in the back of the foot. I didn't know what went on.

"I changed the position of the foot so I was able to continue, but with pain."

Nadal is unbeaten at Wimbledon since the 2007 final, but was unable to compete at the tournament in 2009 because of knee problems.

The Mallorcan had 10 minutes of treatment at the end of the first set of his win over former US Open champion Del Potro and had his foot strapped by the trainer.

"With the tape it changed the direction of the support and it didn't hurt me that much," he added.

Del Potro had his own injury scare during Monday's match, slipping and falling to the grass at 2-2 in the third set.

He remained on the ground, clutching his left hip and then left the court for treatment but returned within minutes to continue as Nadal won 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.

Del Potro applauds Nadal's brilliance

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Isner & Mahut in Wimbledon repeat

Venue: All England Club, LondonDate: 20 June-3 JulyCoverage: Live on BBC One, Two, 3D, HD, Red Button, online (UK only), Radio 5 live, 5 live sports extra; live text commentary on BBC Sport website (#bbctennis); watch again on iPlayer Isner finally wins marathon match at Wimbledon 2010

Record-breaking duo John Isner and Nicolas Mahut have been drawn together in the first round of the men's singles at Wimbledon.

The pair played the longest match in tennis history in 2010, taking place over three days, which American Isner won 6-4 3-6 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-3) 70-68.

This year's first-round tie will take place on Tuesday but organisers have yet to allocate a court.

British number one Andy Murray tweeted: "Centre court anyone?!"

Their freak 11-hour-and-five-minute encounter on Court 18 enthralled and captivated audiences around the world, as well as completely rewriting tennis's history books in the process.

After play was suspended at 59-59 because of bad light, the pair played another 19 games before Isner, who had been the 23rd seed, eventually broke Frenchman Mahut's serve before holding out for a truly remarkable victory.

Not only did the duo play the longest set and match ever recorded, they also played the most games in a set and a match, registered the most aces in a match and the most aces by a player.

Isner finished with 112 aces and Mahut 103, easily beating the previous record - held by Croatia's Ivo Karlovic - of 78.

And British number one Andy Murray, who will play world number 56 Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first round at SW19, said Isner and Mahut deserved a show court for their 2011 encounter.

"Isner vs Mahut drawing each other in the first round after last year is the most amazing thing I've seen in tennis!" he tweeted.

Isner took world number one Rafael Nadal to five sets in the first round of the French Open last month, eventually losing out 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 6-4 to the Spaniard.

McIntosh 'jetlagged 'by marathon tennis match

The 26-year-old is 46th in the men's rankings, 53 places above Mahut, who lost to Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the second round at Queen's last week.

The 29-year-old's Grand Slam form has been poor, losing in the first round of the French Open and the second at the Australian Open.

Since their marathon encounter 12 months ago, Isner revealed the duo have since become friends.

"Honestly, before Wimbledon, we'd never said one word to each other," he said.

"Now we text each other quite often and I've got to know that he's a really class act and a really good guy."

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Win boosts Wimbledon bid - Murray

By Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Queen's Murray delighted after 'unbelievable week'

Andy Murray will head to Wimbledon confident he can win his first Grand Slam title after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club.

The British number one beat Frenchman Tsonga 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to claim his second Queen's Club title and 17th on the ATP World Tour.

And after reaching his first French Open semi-final earlier this month, Murray is confident he can improve on two Wimbledon semi-final appearances when play begins at the All England Club on 20 June.

"I'm going to Wimbledon with the feeling that I'm going to win the tournament," said Murray. "I don't think you can go in with any other attitude.

"I feel like I'm playing good tennis. I'll need to improve the next week or so and work on some things going into Wimbledon, but I need to play my best tennis throughout the tournament.

Diving Tsonga thwarts Murray trick shot

"I'll be switched on for the first match. I'm really looking forward to the next five or six days to get ready for it, because for me it's one of the most important tournaments of the year, if not the most."

Murray's victory on Monday made him the first British man since Francis Gordon Lowe in 1914 to win a second Queen's title, but the Scot said: "I don't think about that stuff too much, but you realise it is that long, it's a nice thing to be able to do and say that you've done it."

One of the highlights of Monday's final was an impromptu between-the-legs shot from the Scot as he closed in on victory in the final set.

"You don't get a chance to do that very often," he said. "It just came off. Sometimes it's just a reaction. I was up 40-0 in the game, probably wouldn't have gone for it if it was 30-30. But I felt comfortable on the court once I got ahead in the match.

"It was nice letting something off, hitting that shot, because I had been behind for 90% of the match."

And Murray described as "amazing" the queue that began forming at 0200 BST, with people trying to get tickets following Sunday's washout, and the Centre Court was a sell-out for the 12.30pm start.

"You never know how busy it's going to be when something like that happens," said Murray. "Because the decision to call it off was late [on Sunday], you don't know how many people are going to hear about it. It was packed - I think it's great."

Asked about Murray's trick shot in the penultimate game, a smiling Tsonga admitted that after his initial anger at losing the point he had said "good play", adding: "It's good to watch on the screen when you've lost."

Continue reading the main story Rafael Nadal - 2008Lleyton Hewitt - 2002Pete Sampras - 1995/99Boris Becker - 1985John McEnroe - 1981/84Jimmy Connors - 1982

The Frenchman served superbly throughout the first two sets but felt it had been imperative to keep the Murray return game at bay.

"During the game he can read the serve," said Tsonga, "Even if you hit the ball really hard he will put the ball in."

And Tsonga, the world number 19, will head to Wimbledon optimistic of at least matching last year's run to the quarter-finals, where he fell to Murray in four sets.

"I was disappointed that I lost today, not because I lost against Andy, but because I lost a final," said Tsonga. "It's difficult when you have this run in the tournament and just the last step you miss, but I feel good. I hope I will play well in the future."

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