Wimbledon Final Pick- WTA

[5] Maria Sharapova vs [8] Petra Kvitova

I really don't know who is going to win this. I'm going to go with Kvitova in three just because I've been rooting for her the whole tournament.

Let's compare the two shot by shot:

Serve:
Sharapova's first serve isn't bad by any means. She's gone back to her old service motion, and she is serving in the 100's which is fine. However, she isn't really getting a high percentage of first serves in which will hurt her in this marriage because it will force her to go to her second serve which is what will really hurt her in this match. Sharapova's second serve is slower than her first serve, but it doesn't have much spin, so it is still a low margin shot. She had thirteen double faults during her match against Lisicki, and Kvitova has a better ROS than Lisicki, so Sharapova may feel like she needs to go for more on her second serve which will give her even more double faults.

Kvitova's serve is considered one of the best in the women's game. It isn't the fastest serve in the game, (her fastest serve at Wimbledon this year clocked in at 113 MPH) but it has variety. She has a great flat serve and a great slice serve, and both have great placement. She hits a lot of aces, and she can open up the court on the ad side with her slice serve out wide. Her second serve isn't bad either. Because she usually slices it, she can still start a point well off of her second serve.

Forehand:
Sharapova's forehand is a great shot. It is hit hard and deep, and she can hit it well on the run as well.

Kvitova's forehand is both her better side and her weaker side. She hits her forehand harder than her backhand, but her forehand often breaks down when she runs into rough spots. Although she normally hits pretty flat, she can add top spin at times.

Backhand:
Sharapova has a stronger backhand than Kvitova. She hits it harder and deeper. However, Kvitova has more variety on her backhand than Sharapova does. Kvitova has a good slice backhand that stays very low on the grass. She will want to use it to get Sharapova to make mistakes.

Return of Serve:
Both Sharapova and Kvitova will be aggressive when returning serve. Kvitova will likely have more success with her ROS because of Sharapova's weaker serve.

Netplay:
Since Sharapova almost never comes to net and Kvitova isn't terrible at net, Kvitova has the edge here. However, she needs to make sure that she hits better approach shots than she did in her semifinal match against Azarenka. Otherwise, she'll get passed every time she tries to come in.

Movement:
Neither player is a great mover, but Sharapova hits harder ground strokes on the run.

Mental Game:
Sharapova definitely has the edge here. Not only has she already won three slams, but she is a great competitor. She has the ability to induce short term memory loss on herself when she is down, and she won't give up even when her serve has completely deserted her.

Kvitova, on the other hand, doesn't have a great mental game. She often starts out great. However, in her two most recent matches, her level of play dropped significantly for a few games after the first set. She started to spray forehands, and she stopped moving her feet. Although she was able to recover in both of those matches, she cannot allow herself to gift Sharapova a single game in the final if she wants to win. Also, because she has never reached a major final before, it is unknown whether she'll be able to handle the pressure of playing such a huge match.