U.S. Open: Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova loses in first round

Petra Kvitova, who had seemed ready to become the next big women's tennis star after her poised and athletic win at Wimbledon, Monday became the first reigning women's Wimbledon champion to lose before the third round in the open era of tennis.

Kvitova, seeded fifth in the tournament and ranked sixth in the world, moved slowly on the court Monday against Alexandra Dulgheru, a 22-year-old from Romania who is ranked 49th in the world. Kvitova's lackluster performance ended in a 7-6 (3), 6-3 first-round loss.

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-- Diane Pucin in New York

Photo: Petra Kvitova Credit: Jason Szenes/European Press Agency.

NBC out, ESPN in, no more Wimbledon tape delay

Beginning next year, ESPN will televise all of the Wimbledon tennis tournament and will broadcast the entire event live, according to two people familiar with the negotiations who could not speak publicly about those contract talks.

NBC released a statement confirming a story first reported by the Sports Business Journal that it had finished its last contracted Wimbledon broadcast Sunday at the end of the men's final, won by Novak Djokovic over Rafael Nadal.

"We are proud of our 43-year partnership with the All England Club and while we would have liked to have continued our relationship, we were simply outbid," NBC's statement said.

An ESPN spokesman declined to comment.

It was NBC that began what it called the "Breakfast at Wimbledon" tradition, with live telecasts of the women's and men's finals beginning at 6 a.m. PDT on Saturdays and Sundays. But the network recently had angered West Coast viewers by tape-delaying semifinals coverage Thursday and Friday because of its insistence on televising its regular morning "Today" show.

Novak Djokovic dominates Rafael Nadal, wins first Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic earned the match point with a serve and volley, a sign that he wasn't worried about nerves or playing it safe.

And without worrying about anything but winning, Djokovic reeled off a giant serve and feasted off of Rafael Nadal's helpless, desperate service return. Djokovic cracked a cross-court forehand and all that was left for the defending Wimbledon champion to do was hit a backhand wide.

With court calm, with quickness afoot and with dominance from the backcourt, Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title Sunday, beating Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 on Centre Court in 2 hours, 28 minutes.

It was Djokovic's third major tennis title, and after the final point Djokovic, a 24-year-old from Serbia, made the sign of the cross twice and kissed the grass.

This was the fifth straight time Djokovic has beaten Nadal this year but no victory mattered as much. Djokovic's win ended a 20-match Wimbledon winning streak for Nadal. Djokovic, who was seeded second in the tournament, officially becomes the No. 1-ranked player in the world Monday, moving ahead of Nadal on the computer.

"It's really hard to describe this with any words except to say it is the best day of my life," said Djokovic, who was cheered on by Serbian President Boris Tadic in the Royal Box. "This is the most special day of my life, it is the tournament I always dreamed of winning, it is the first tennis tournament I ever watched on television in my life. I think I'm still sleeping and still having my dream."

Bryan brothers win second Wimbledon title, 11th major

Bob and Mike Bryan, the 33-year-old identical twins from Camarillo, won their second Wimbledon doubles title Saturday and their 11th major championship with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over eighth-seeded Robert Lindstedt (who played at Pepperdine) of Sweden and Horia Tecau of Romania.

The top-seeded brothers tied the renowned Australian team of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde for most Grand Slam-level titles. The Bryans had lost three of their previous four Wimbledon finals but they dominated Saturday's match so much that Lindstedt earned himself a warning from the chair umpire for racket abuse on the second-to-last point of the match. Lindstedt slammed his racket to the ground over his frustration after fruitlessly trying to calculate the angle of a Bryan volley.

Last year the Bryans set the all-time victory record, surpassing the 61 titles won by Woodbridge and Woodforde, when they won the Los Angeles tournament for their 62nd overall win.

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-- Diane Pucin, reporting from Wimbledon, England

Photo: Bob, left, and Mike Bryant celebrate a point during their men’s doubles championship victory over Horia Tecau and Robert Lindstedt at Wimbledon on Saturday. Credit: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

Petra Kvitova beats Maria Sharapova, wins first Wimbledon title

Petra Kvitova, a 6-footer from the Czech Republic who had never been in a major tournament final, wowed the Centre Court crowd with her controlled power and craft lefty serving, and overpowered 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova Saturday in the Wimbledon final.

With an aggressive ending ace, the eighth-seeded Kvitova won her first major title, beating fifth-seeded Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 Saturday. The 21-year-old is the youngest Wimbledon winner since Sharapova beat Serena Williams in the finals seven years ago as a 17-year-old.

Even though this was her first major tournament final, Kvitova served out the win with a love game, taking the first point with a blasting backhand winner. It was Sharapova who made errors on the next two points, knocking in a row, a forehand and then a backhand into the net. That let Kvitova feel free enough to go for the big serve and it was a no-nonsense ace.

Kvitova, is the first left-hander since Martina Navratilova (who was watching from the Royal Box) to win here.

Rafael Nadal smashes through Andy Murray and into Wimbledon final

For one set Andy Murray had defending Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal on the run. Murray, seeded fourth and trying to become the first British man since 1936 to win the most important tennis tournament in the world, broke Nadal's serve to end the first set.

As the top-seeded Spaniard knocked a backhand awry, the cheers were huge, both from inside Centre Court and around the grounds, where fans watched on television.

But instead of a big upset and a chance to celebrate at least until Sunday's final, most of the crowd exited the All England Club as if they were Chicago Cubs fans. All they could think was, "Wait till next year."

Photos: Scenes from Wimbledon

Nadal played nearly error-free tennis over the last three sets and won his 20th straight Wimbledon match 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. The Spaniard hasn't lost here since falling to Roger Federer in the finals in 2007. (Nadal missed Wimbledon in 2009 with a knee injury.)

Novak Djokovic will be No.1, might be Wimbledon champion

Second-seeded Novak Djokovic, who has only lost one match this year, is guaranteed to be ranked No. 1 in the world Monday but that's not the 24-year-old Serbian tennis player's No. 1 objective this weekend. Djokovic would like to win his first Wimbledon as well.

Djokovic earned both the No. 1 ranking and a spot in Sunday's final with a 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-7 (9), 6-3 win over 12th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Friday.

Photos: Scenes from Wimbledon

After Djokovic recovered from being behind 2-0 early in the first set, he tired out Tsonga, who had come from two sets behind to upset Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. Both players charmed the Centre Court by playing scrambling, diving points. Tsonga once hit a volley from his knees and tried another from his back.

And in the third set, when it seemed the match was over, Djokovic served for the win and got broken. Tsonga responded strongly in the third-set tiebreak, saving two match points and finally taking the set with a giant service winner.

Jack Nicklaus is a fan of the Bryan brothers

Jack Nicklaus was back at Wimbledon on Thursday, and it wasn’t to sit in the Royal Box, as he did Wednesday, watching Roger Federer lose to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

At 11 a.m. when Bob and Mike Bryan, the twins from Camarillo who are the top-ranked doubles team, were warming up for their quarterfinal match Thursday, Nicklaus was watching. According to the Bryans, Nicklaus is a huge fan of tennis and, in particular, doubles.

Bob said Nicklaus was on hand for every warmup ball the twins hit. “It was pretty funny,” Bob said. “The crowd was trying to figure out who he was.

“We’ve been at his house, he has three grass courts, lit. He’s got a crew out there rolling them, cutting them, lining them … and he’s got putting greens, two yachts right on the back of the house, a museum of animals.”

Mike said Nicklaus has tennis skill. “He’s a great serve and volleyer,” Mike said. “I wouldn’t say he’s got blazing speed. But he’s got good hands.”

Maria Sharapova advances to Wimbledon final

Maria Sharapova survived some shaky serving (13 double faults) by being overpowering from the baseline, and she beat unseeded German Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour, 27 minutes in a Wimbledon semifinal.

Sharapova, seeded fifth, won this tournament in 2004, but she hasn't been past the semifinals since 2006 and seemed to be in trouble early when Lisicki won the first three games of the match in seven minutes, helped by the fact that Sharapova served two double faults in her first service game and got broken at love in the second game.

But Sharapova may have saved the match in the fourth game of the first set when she saved a break point and fought through a 12-point game to hold serve. Immediately after that, Sharapova broke Lisicki's serve with the help of powerful service returns.

PHOTOS: 2011 Wimbledon

"It's amazing to be back in the finals of Wimbledon, to break through here to get to final," Sharapova said. "I'm really happy even though I didn't play my best tennis today. She played really well, and I did quite the opposite. I had to stay focused and get back on track. I remained really focused for the rest of the match."

Sharapova will play left-handed Petra Kvitova, a first-time Wimbledon finalist, Saturday for the title.

"I have realistic expectations," said Sharapova, 24. "I haven't gone past the fourth round in a few years and to be in the final again is a great achievement for me, but I feel I have more to do. Petra's a really tricky player, a great grass-court player, a lefty who uses her serve really well. It will be a tough match, but I'm looking forward to it."

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Photo: Maria Sharapova. Credit: Eddie Keogh / Reuters.

Has Roger Federer won his last Grand Slam tennis tournament?

Has Roger Federer won his last Grand Slam? Writers from around Tribune Co. weigh in on the topic. Check back throughout the day for more responses, and feel free to leave a comment of your own.

Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times

Roger Federer won’t win another major title.

There is always going to be a Jo-Wilfried Tsonga now, someone younger who is bigger hitter and fearless. At the 2009 U.S. Open final, it was Juan Martin del Potro. At Wimbledon last year, it was Tomas Berdych.

If it isn’t one of those, it's rival Rafael Nadal in the French Open final. Or Novak Djokovic, who could be No. 1 when Wimbledon is over.

Federer is going to have to be content with his 16 major titles and his six Wimbledon championships. Pete Sampras will get to keep his record seven Wimbledon wins.

Federer, who turns 30 next month, is just the tiniest step slower in reaching the net, just a split second tardy in arriving to hit a volley and -- as was obvious Wednesday when Tsonga wasn’t cowed even when down two sets -- Federer is not invincible anymore. Federer is still good, but he's not the best. And in men’s tennis there are a lot of good guys.

Petra Kvitova defeats a noisy Victoria Azarenka to enter her first Wimbledon final

Petra Kvitova, a 21-year-old from the Czech Republic, became the first left-hander since her hero Martina Navratilova to advance to the women's Wimbledon final Thursday, with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win over fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Kvitova, seeded eighth, is 6 feet tall, and when she was in control of the match, it was because of her powerful serving. She won on her second match point when Azarenka, a notoriously loud presence on court, punctuating every swing with a loud shriek, served a double fault.

PHOTOS: 2011 Wimbledon

"I'm so happy," said Kvitova, who made the semifinals here last year. "I don't believe it that I'm in the final. I served very well, all match it was about the serve."

Kvitova said she got to meet Navratilova in the locker room. Navratilova, also Czech-born, gave Kvitova a good-luck message, the semifinal winner said.

In the finals, Kvitova will play the winner of Thursday's second semifinal, between fifth-seeded and 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and unranked wild-card entrant Sabine Lisicki of Germany.

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-- Diane Pucin in Wimbledon, England

 Photo: Petra Kvitova. Credit: Leon Neal / Getty Images.