2015 Mutua Madrid Open Day 7: Petra Kvitova Hands Serena Williams First Loss Of 2015

Petra Kvitova (click to enlarge)

Those who have closely followed Petra Kvitova always knew she had this in her. Not only did she hand Serena Williams her first loss of the year 6-2 6-3, Petra dominated the world #1 in the semifinals of the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open. The Czech superstar was so calm, almost looking serenely at peace. She laced shot after shot, matching and exceeding anything Williams could muster on this day. And so ends Serena’s 27-match win streak overall, her 50-match Premier Mandatory win streak and her 19-match win streak in Madrid. It’s good that the player to end those streaks is Petra. Although she has yet to be ranked #1 (her highest ranking to date is #2) she has the skills to rule women’s tennis if she could find consistency and prolonged good health. For those of you who read this and also have read my LPGA posts, Petra is like Suzann Pettersen to me; has been #2 but never been #1, but boy oh boy, when she has everything working she looks like the best player in the world in terms of pure ability. And the consistency question will be asked again in the final against Svetlana Kuznetsova, who upset the defending champion, Maria Sharapova, 6-2 6-4. On talent alone, Petra should beat Kuznetsova. However, would I be surprised if Petra loses? No. Because she can follow one match playing her A game with another playing her C- game. Add in that Sveta’s lone win in four matches against Petra just happened to come on clay at last year’s Roland Garros and Kvitova can’t just mail it in tomorrow and expect to win.