• Wimbledon, Day 12

Kvitova hammers subdued Sharapova in final

Petra Kvitova made mincemeat of Maria Sharapova's second serve © Getty Images

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Eighth seed Petra Kvitova claimed her maiden grand slam title in the Wimbledon final with a shock triumph over tournament favourite Maria Sharapova.

Kvitova, who was outside the world's top 30 at the start of 2010, became the first Czech player to lift a major crown since 1998 with a 6-3 6-4 win on Centre Court.

It was only Sharapova's second loss in her last 18 matches - but she failed to produce the performance of a player in the midst of a purple patch. Her serve was far too fragile - she won just 27% of the points on her second delivery - and that proved fatal to her chances of claiming the crown she won in 2004 as a 17-year-old.

Kvitova, playing in her first grand slam final, made a nervy start, coughing up a break of serve in the first game of the match, but she responded in ideal fashion, hitting straight back to tie the scores at 1-1. Although both players were struggling to judge the depth of their strokes, they were happy to slug it out from the baseline, with subtlety in short supply as the combatants tried to outgun each other from the back of the court.

After a couple of unconvincing holds from both, Kvitova nudged 4-2 ahead with a key break as Sharapova's serve wobbled under pressure, giving away a game with successive double faults. The service difficulties began to infiltrate Sharapova's groundstrokes, and before long she found herself one set behind - the first she had dropped all tournament.

Kvitova clinched complete control of the match with a break in the first game of the second stanza, unleashing a remarkable forehand down the line at 30-40 to leave a ratted Sharapova in dire straits.

The former world No. 1 fought back from 2-0 down - and the loss of six successive games - to level at 2-2, with Kvitova beginning to look far less fluent in her movement across the court. But just when it seemed the set was slipping away from Kvitova, she helped herself to yet another break, as Sharapova's defence was powerless to repel the bombs being fired her way.

At 3-2 and deuce, Kvitova was presented with a simple forehand winner into the open court, but she somehow contrived to send her shot wide, allowing Sharapova to convert the resultant break point and level the scores.

Sharapova's serve again let her down in the subsequent game, however, as Kvitova moved into a lead that she would never relinquish, allowing her to follow in the footsteps of Czech legend Jana Novotna.

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