Bouchard and Kvitova's personality clash makes for Grand Slam final
As far as personality goes, today’s Wimbledon finalists could not be more different.
Petra Kvitova is a shy former grand slam champion who admittedly struggled with the attention that followed her Wimbledon triumph in 2011.
At the other end of the court will be Eugenie Bouchard, a fierce young player who has no problem being compared to Anna Kournikova, confessed her crush on Justin Bieber in front of a sellout crowd on Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena and exudes confidence rarely associated with someone her age.
Kvitova is from a small village in the Czech Republic, while Bouchard was born in Montreal and was named after British royals.
The Czech followed her maiden grand slam title win with a first round exit in the following major.
Bouchard meanwhile, had her breakthrough making the semis in Australia earlier this year, and went on to reach the same stage or farther in the next two slams.
“First and foremost I focus on the tennis. Whatever comes with it, I take in stride. I know it’s part of the job. I appreciate everything that comes with it,” said Bouchard of the attention she’s been getting all year.
While Kvitova admits: “I wasn’t really used to the attention after winning Wimbledon. That was the biggest problem, I think.
“I know that after winning a first slam, if you’re somebody young it takes some time to win the other. I hope that my time is here. I will do everything that I can."
Kvitova has experience on her side, having already gone through the motions of playing a first major final at Wimbledon, but Bouchard, although a first-time slam finalist, is showing no signs of nerves despite this being just her sophomore season on tour.
She was all business after beating Simona Halep in the semi-finals and gave a very muted celebration.
“I'm proud of what I accomplished, but the job is not over,” said the 20-yearold.
“It’s been a long time in the making for it to finally come together and hard work to produce results on the match court.
“That’s happened this year, but I wouldn’t say it’s an overnight thing.”
Bouchard has been getting marriage proposals online, has a “Genie Army” handing her soft toys after every match and has had her pen pal, Jim Parsons - star of the TV show The Big Bang Theory - in the stands cheering for her all week.
Still she insists she has her “blinders on” and is focused on the task at hand – to lift the Wimbledon trophy this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Kvitova explains she does not know Bouchard at all on a personal level, but is familiar with her game having beaten her in their only previous meeting last year in Toronto.
“Bouchard is playing a very solid game. She’s a very good mover and stands near the baseline. I think it’s very similar to my game and it’s going to be a tough battle,” said the sixth seed.
Today’s title match is also the first grand slam final featuring two players born in the 1990s, a testament to the pair's rise.
Bouchard, the first Canadian man or woman to reach a major final, is the youngest slam finalist since Caroline Wozniacki was a US Open runner-up in 2009.
Should she win, she would reach No6 in the world and would become the youngest grand slam champion since Maria Sharapova won the US Open in 2006.
