A superb Kvitova wins her second Wimbledon title, while two new female Ozeki emerge

The ladies' competition at Wimbledon 2014 seemed to have a logical endpoint. 20-year old "tennis princess" Eugenie Bouchard, semi-finalist at both the 2014 Australian and French Open, had come through the tougher half of the field - that included inter alia the Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova - without dropping a set. She had outclassed the 2013-finalist and ex-Sekiwake Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals. Then, in the semifinals, she had beaten Roland Garros finalist Simona Halep, with a dominating performance in the second set.

Surely Petra Kvitova (picture) - who had not been in a grand slam semifinal for more than two years and had come through significantly weaker competition en route to the final - would prove no obstacle?

But Kvitova - a former Ozeki (=Champion) and 2011 Wimbledon winner - refused to succumb to this logic. She started strong, continued stronger, and, from the middle of the first set, played irresistible grass court tennis, based on a strong serve, and complemented by powerful, accurate groundstrokes, as well as much nimble movement and touch at and around the net. Bouchard, who had looked so sturdy in her first 6 matches at 2014 Wimbledon, had no serious chance in the 7th, losing 3-6, 0-6.

Based on this performance, the question is why Kvitova has stayed away for so long from the very top of the game - she clearly belongs.

At the same time, signs of a generational shift in ladies' tennis intensify. 24-year old Kvitova comes roaring back to Ozeki rank, where she will be joined by first-time promotees Bouchard (pictured on the right) and Halep - both players in their early 20s. Bouchard and Halep are the 33rd and 34th female Ozeki of the open era, respectively. By contrast, the veteran Ozeki Li Na and Viktoria Azarenka, who were kadoban before the tournament (= they missed the quarterfinal at the preceding French Open), failed to make the last 8 and get demoted to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I). Further, the Yokozuna Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova also left Wimbledon empty-handed. Dai-Yokozuna (=great Grand Champion) Serena has now missed the quarterfinals for three consecutive slams, and needs to reach the semifinals at the US Open lest to lose active Yokozuna status.

Finally, Kvitova's Czech compatriot Lucie Safarova earned a career-first promotion to Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) by reaching the semifinals. The ladies' sanyaku ranks going into the 2014 US Open are therefore as follows:

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Serena Williams	Y	Maria Sharapova	Y
O	Eugenie Bouchard	O1	Simona Halep	O
O	Petra Kvitova	O2	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	Na Li	S	Viktoria Azarenka	O
K	Lucie Safarova	K	-	-

1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career
* kadoban
Venus Williams is an inactive Yokozuna