Wimbledon Final Decided by Serves of Sharapova, Kvitova, Navratilova Says - Bloomberg

The serve will be key in today's women's final at Wimbledon between 2004 champion Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova, nine-time winner Martina Navratilova said.

"It's such a toss-up," Navratilova said in a news conference this week at the All England Club. "It basically comes down to who serves better."

Sharapova is playing in her first Wimbledon final since she won the tournament at age 17 seven years ago. The Russian has struggled with her serve at times since having shoulder surgery in 2008, an injury that sidelined the former top-ranked player for nine months.

Sharapova has hit 32 double faults, the most out of anyone in the women's draw, and 21 aces on her way to the final. She produced 13 double faults in her semifinal against German wild- card Sabine Lisicki. The left-handed Kvitova had 13 double faults and 35 aces on the way to her first major championship match.

"I think Petra will return better and it will be easier for her to hold serve," Navratilova said. "That lefty serve will pay off a little bit more."

Playing a left-handed player is always a challenge, Sharapova said.

"The spin is coming from a different side," she said in a news conference yesterday. "On grass, with the way the spin comes out, it's a big advantage, coming from a lefty. It's a matter of seeing the ball a little bit faster and reacting."

Sharapova Favorite

Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam champion, is the 4-7 favorite to win the title at U.K. bookmaker William Hill Plc. That means a successful $7 bet would return $4 plus the original wager. Kvitova, 21, is at 6-4 to become the first Czech woman to triumph at the All England Club since Jana Novotna in 1998.

"The ladies final is win or bust for bookies William Hill as a Sharapova victory will cost Hill a big six-figure sum, while a Kvitova victory would be one of the best-ever tennis results," Rupert Adams of William Hill said in an e-mail. One customer has put a 51,000 pound ($82,000) bet on Sharapova to win, which would cost the bookmaker 114,750 pounds should she succeed.

Sharapova, 24, became a global superstar after winning Wimbledon at 17. With a game built on ground strokes and mental toughness, she has become the world's best-paid female athlete.

Earning Power

The Russian, who also won the 2006 U.S. Open, earns $24 million in prize money and from endorsing companies including Tiffany & Co., Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd. and Groupe Danone SA's Evian water, according to Forbes magazine. Her $15 million in career prize money alone is one-third higher than that of the combined winnings of three other Wimbledon women semifinalists -- Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Sabine Lisicki of Germany.

Now ranked No. 6 on the WTA tour, Sharapova will climb to No. 3 if she wins Wimbledon. She is seeded fifth.

Sharapova reached the semifinals at the French Open last month, losing to eventual champion Li Na, and has reached the final in London without dropping a set. Kvitova, the No. 8 seed, has dropped two sets in the tournament.

"It will totally be first strike on the ball," Navratilova said. "Maria probably has the best return in the game. With the serves, Kvitova will get on top of the rally a little bit earlier than Maria maybe."

Kvitova said she can't afford to start slowly against Sharapova.

"I have to play my best, for sure," she said in a news conference. "Play for 100 percent and then I can win."

To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Rossingh at Wimbledon through the London sports desk at drossingh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Elser at celser@bloomberg.net