She might not be the best in the world, but she is the Queen of the All England Club. While every player tries to bring her best to Wimbledon, no one transforms herself over the course of the fortnight quite like Petra Kvitova, the champion in 2011 and 2014. The question now for the Czech, who at 24 is entering her prime, is whether she’ll ever be able to play the same way anywhere else. She has never reached a final at any of the other majors.
Kvitova’s go-for-broke ground strokes and skidding lefty serve are tailor-made for grass, but the biggest difference in her game at Wimbledon is her attitude: Last year, she refused to let herself lose a close early-round match against Venus Williams, and she sprinted to the finish line against Eugenie Bouchard in the final. In the past, Kvitova has left that single-mindedness behind: After winning Wimbledon in 2011, she looked ready to take over No. 1; instead, she finished the next season at No. 8.