The Wimbledon 2011 Thread/Sports Thread #1: The Calm During The Storm(s)

Photo from Getty Images and Wtatennis.com

The renowned phrase before ominous weather hits, "The Calm Before The Storm", is certainly also used frequently in sport.

A massive force that can't be stopped when fully ensconced, the feeling of relaxation, prior to the arrival of extreme conditions, can change rapidly when those conditions come. It could cause a player to lose his or her nerve in a sudden instance, never being able to recover from the acerbic nature of such a powerful, pestilent force.

Sometimes though, there are special instances where special people have an ability to show "The Calm During The Storm." Moreover, some people are just "The Calm", no matter when or where.

Petra Kvitova, in the year of 2011, has shown she is not only level headed and relaxed in the most stressful situations. Instead, she IS that level headed person, blessed with the "Calm gene."

It was evidence today, and proved to be the defining difference at how the 21 year old survived the storm of her much more experienced, accomplished opponent, as well as the storm that is "Finals' nerves" at Wimbledon (or any of the other 3 Grand Slams for that matter).

It could have easily been a torrential downpour of capitulation to the championship stage and to Maria Sharapova for Kvitova. And it seemed that way when Sharapova boldly intended to make Kvitova be the one to serve first in the final, as the Fulnek native struggled to buy a first serve in the opening game and was broken at 30.

But instead of letting Sharapova be a front runner and have little resistance on the day, Kvitova immediately turned it around. "The Calm" was restored, and it was here to stay.

A 0-40 lead on return, and a break two points later showed instantly after just two games why so many, from Martina Navaratilova all the way do to Oracene Williams, have talked highly about her (this author included.)

If there was a player that truly represents the phrase "Hakuana Matata" not only on the women's side, but in tennis today, it is Kvitova. The remainder of the first set saw her calmly imposed her will on a more nervous and tension filled Sharapova, showing her controlled intent on being "The Lion Queen" today. She wasn't broken the rest of the way in that initial batch of games, shattering any sense of invisibility that most thought Sharapova did have in this tournament until that reality changing opener .

You started to see then that Sharapova's choice to defer serve to Kvitova was more not just about her belief in her return game to be better than the Czech's serve, but also, and most importantly, her lack of total confidence on her serve. Coming off a 13 double fault semifinals performance can do those things. However, that dreary effort also had to deal more with the questions on whether the 3 time Grand Slam champion is truly "mentally tough?"

The proverbial wisdom throughout most in the US TV world is the opinion that Sharapova is right after Serena Williams in terms of being strongest upstairs in the women's game. With the way she has lost to Li Na at the French and now today to Kvitova, that claim is very dubious to say the least.

Being a great fighter doesn't automatically mean you are "mentally tough." There are other important factors that warrant a player to truly be given that mantle of cerebral master. It's what makes Serena the legend she is, and how Kvitova could be on the road to creating her own legacy in the game.

"The calm gene" allowed Kvitova to overcome nervous pitfalls in the second set. She is human after all, and those dips in champion aura gave Sharapova the belief that maybe the storm of herself and the moment would be too much for Kvitova in the end.

But the peerless placidity of Kvitova's mental strength returned within the next point of that crucial 7th game of the 2nd set. In the blink of an eye it was 15-40, Sharapova feeling the pressure, leading to inevitably succumbing to Kvitova for what would turn out to be the final fatal time.

The inexperienced one had "the calm gene," while the Grand Slam winning veteran lacked it again in a major moment on the ultimate stage to win a long awaited and still elusive 4th major title.

Along with the valid challenges to her mental toughness ranking, Sharapova's no sets lost form going into the final was highly overrated. She had faced a slew of undersized counterpunchers, a 17 year old (Laura Robson) that severely tested her and couldn't hold her own mental enough to win, and a wild card comeback wonder kid (Sabine Lisicki) who still lacks the mental consistency to combine with her huge game and heart to win in the latter stages of a Grand Slam.

In short, Sharapova benefitted from a fine draw of not having to deal with a top class player until the final, where her dominance of the tournament would truly be put to the test. And it failed that examination in very disappointing fashion.

The reason for that epic failed centered on Sharapova encountering a player with the game and the mind that would ask severe questions about the Americanized Russian. A player that could overcome the fierce storm that she tries to place on opponents to make them submit to her unflinching will. A player that refused to let the "Come On's", the shireking, and the other antics that gets under so many other players' skin faze her.

That was not the biggest storm that Petra Kvitova had to overcome today though. She knew that she was the better player going into the match, and it was all up to whether the harder storm of "the finals moment" would prevent her from displaying just that?

And with 40-0 up at 6-3, 5-4 to her advantage, this new star personality in the game of tennis did the calmest thing you could ever do to win a match, hitting an ace down the middle (her first and only one of the day at that) to overcome that second storm to prove that "the calm" in her was the strongest force today.

It would be very foolish to say that she won't be able to exhibit calmness after the storm, either. Especially when she is "The Calm."