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Kvitova reaches maiden Slam final

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Petra Kvitova stretches for a forehand volley during her singles semifinal. [Sources: Wimbledon.com]

Petra Kvitova rode her big serve right into the Wimbledon final, beating Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

Kvitova hit nine aces, including three in a row in the final game of the first set, to reach her first grand slam final.

She will next face Maria Sharapova who overcame a poor serve to reach her second Wimbledon final.

The fifth-seeded Russian beat Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-3 despite 13 double-faults.

Sharapova trailed 0-3 in the first set, but then won 12 of the final 16 games to advance.

"All match it was around both serves, so I'm very happy my serve was good in the third set," said Kvitova, who had never won a match on grass before last year's tournament, when she reached the semifinals. "Grass is my favorite surface."

Kvitova was playing in only her second major semifinal, and she dictated the play throughout the match. The Czech left-hander had 40 winners and 14 unforced errors, while Azarenka had only nine winners and seven unforced errors. And it was Azarenka's serve that finished it when the fourth-seeded Belarusian committed her second double-fault of the day on match point.

In the first set, Kvitova twice broke Azarenka's serve and saved the only break point she faced. She finished the set with six aces. But Azarenka responded in the second, finally converting a break point in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. She held the rest of the way and evened the match, but couldn't do much about her opponent's serve.

Opening game

Kvitova lost only one point in the opening game of the third set, and then broke for a 2-0 lead. At 3-1, Azarenka had two break points, but Kvitova saved them both and then won the next two points to make it 4-1.

Kvitova is the first left-handed player to reach the Wimbledon final since fellow Czech Martina Navratilova in 1994. Navratilova, who won the title nine times and was in the crowd yesterday, and Ann Jones (in 1969) are the only ones to win the championship dish at the All England Club.

"We met in the locker room and she told me well done and good luck for the next match," Kvitova said of Navratilova. "It's very nice when I can meet her and speak with her."

The last lefty to even reach a women's final was Monica Seles at the 1998 French Open.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal's left foot is bothering him, and that alone is giving just about every tennis fan in Britain hope that Andy Murray can finally end the nation's Wimbledon drought.

They will play each other in the semifinals today.

"I'm not worried about my foot," said Nadal, who beat Murray in the semifinals at the All England Club last year and again at the same stage at the French Open a few weeks ago. "(With) the anesthetic there I don't feel nothing. I don't feel the pain."

Nadal has won the Wimbledon title the last two times he has played, in 2008 and last year, bringing his record to 31-2 since the 2006 tournament.

"Right now everything is to win. I have to enjoy the moment, play aggressive," said Nadal, who has won 19 straight matches at the grass-court grand slam. "Only like this I'm going to have any chance to be in the final."

In the other semifinal match, second-seeded Novak Djokovic will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The 12th-seeded Tsonga eliminated six-time champion Roger Federer on Wednesday, coming from two sets down to win in five.

But without Federer and his quest to equal the Wimbledon record of seven titles, much of the attention will fall on Murray.

The 24-year-old Scot is trying to become the first British man to win the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936 and only second to win at the All England Club in more than 100 years.

No British man has even reached the final since Bunny Austin in 1938.

But Murray is 4-11 against Nadal, including 0-2 at Wimbledon.

"I just have to have a better game plan," said Murray, who has reached three grand slam finals but lost them all. "Sometimes it comes down to strategy. Sometimes it comes down to having more experience.

"Yeah, just have to go out there and play well and serve well and believe and I'll have a chance."