LONDON—Why does Petra Kvitova love this place so much? She’s been counting the reasons for the past two weeks. She likes sharing a house with her team and hanging out in the backyard. She likes living in a village instead of a hotel. She likes the All England Club grass, which “is perfect, as always,” and which is “always giving me extra confidence.” She likes the “classic feel” of the place, she likes wearing all white and she likes having the opportunity to hit a slice or a drop or a volley now and then, something other than the line-drive ground strokes that are her specialty. She even likes the practice courts here, which she calls “my happy place.”
After listening to Kvitova for a few days, and watching her beat Johanna Larsson, 6-3, 6-4, on Centre Court on Monday, it seems to me that she loves Wimbledon for the same related pair of reasons that pretty much anyone who spends any time at this tournament loves it: because it’s simultaneously big and small. Wimbledon is the world’s most prestigious tournament, and Centre Court is the sport’s premier stage. But it’s held in what can feel like a small town—an expensive small town, yes, but a quaint one with tree-lined lanes and mom-and-pop restaurants.
It’s a combination that Kvitova can relate to. On the one hand, she has a big game, and a Grand Slam champion’s ambition and self-confidence; she knows she can outhit 99 percent of her opponents. On the other hand, she was born in Bilovec, Czech Republic (pop. 7,400), grew up in Fulnek (pop. 5,900) and now keeps an apartment in Prostejov (pop. 44,000). She loves pace on court, but prefers to live at a slower one off it. And while Centre Court is the center of the tennis universe, it’s not overwhelmingly large or intimidating or anonymous, like many of the outdoor arenas in the U.S. that Kvitova has never loved as much.