Rarely has there been a more impressive start to a Grand Slam title defence.
Petra Kvitova’s 58-minute, 6-2, 6-0 destruction of Kurumi Nara on No.1 Court on Thursday followed on from her sizzling 35-minute win over Kiki Bertens in round one two days earlier.
She has surrendered just three games en route to the last 32.
The Czech is a two-time champion at the All England Club. When she won her first title, in 2011, she struggled in the aftermath with the accompanying fame and expectation. It was a significant factor in the reason behind why it took her three years to claim her second.
Watching her walk around the court during matches this year, you can see that her elite status, high seeding and title expectations sit far more comfortably with her. Everything is clicking in her game – the swinging serve, her smooth groundstrokes, the vaunted power – and she looks incredibly relaxed and assured.
I still have a lot of space where I can improve for the next match
“I'm very pleased how is everything going so far. I can't really say surprised. I think I'm kind of handling it better than 2012 when I was defending my first title,” Kvitova assessed.
"I'm nervous before each match when I'm going to play here, especially first round. But it was there today (as well). Every match I'm going to play is great. I'm trying to really enjoy it. Of course, playing here on the grass which really suits my game. I really love to play here. It's very nice feeling.”
There was barely a stage during Thursday’s match against Nara that anything occurred to burst this bubble of positivity. The No.2 seed simply had too much firepower and too many weapons for the diminutive Nara, whose main shot at winning points came through a Kvitova error.
She broke serve early en route to a 3-0 lead; the only time cracks appeared in Kvitova’s play was in the sixth game, when she lost the range on her devastating groundstrokes and helped Nara to hold for 2-4. Yet it was a temporary mishap. Continuing to go after her shots, Kvitova scorched through eight games in a row to wrap up victory.
She finished the match with 23 winners to Nara’s three, plus 10 aces to none.
The first set of this match lasted as long as the entire encounter against Bertens; Kvitova admitted that it was not as much of a cruise as the scoreline would suggest. “I mean, of course, the score look very easy. But few games which we play was really close,” she said.
“I'm just glad that I won. That's important, counting is the last point. I still have a lot of space where I can improve for the next match. That's a good sign, as well.”
Third-round opponent Jelena Jankovic will not like the sound of that. The No.28 seeded Serb came through a three-set tussle against Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina later on Thursday, but has never historically performed as strongly on grass as on other surfaces; Wimbledon is the major at which she has the weakest Grand Slam record.
Kvitova is relishing the prospect.
“It's always big challenge to face her. Former No.1 player. It's always little bit special. Always she has sort of weapon to play. Especially her backhand, it's really great. I played her in Rome. I never played her on grass. It's really different,” said the Czech, who owns a 4-2 winning record over the Serbian.
“But I'm going to try the best playing the same way as I normally playing.”
If she can continue doing that as she has been at this year’s Championships, another quick match could be in store in the next step of her flourishing title defence.
