In a display of sheer dominance, Czech defending champion Petra Kvitova annihilated Kiki Bertens in just over half an hour with a 6-1, 6-0 victory. The match was the first to start proceedings on Centre Court on day two of the Wimbledon Championships.
Kvitova kept a high level of intensity from the beginning of the match, breaking Bertens' serve in the second game of the first set. She proceeded to break her once more in the opening set to clinch it 6-1.
The Czech continued to put her foot on the accelerator in the next set as she denied her opponent from taking any chance to even hold her serve, wrapping the match up with a 6-0. Kvitova commanded most of the rallies with her powerful groundstrokes, hitting a total of nine winners in the match. More than her groundstrokes however, it was her aggressive serving that caused the destruction. Through variant placement and power in her service games, she won 28 out of 29 of her points on serve—losing the sole point on a double fault. Bertens never really managed to keep control in the match, hitting thirteen unforced errors in the 35 minutes.
After an illness ridden season, the defending champion can use her crushing victory to gain some confidence on the green courts. She was unable to play Eastbourne due to a virus, missing precious practice time on the grass as well as valuable matches to warmup for the big tournament. She has however felt significantly better coming into Wimbledon, hoping her return to her favorite Grand Slam will prove a strong cure for her physical condition. She stated remaining healthy as her priority in her post-match interview, and will surely keep that in mind as she continues the defense for the title. Her next opponent is Japanese Kurumi Nara.