One Final Upset on Women's Side at Wimbledon

The women's final at Wimbledon had to play second fiddle this weekend to the men's final today, though the ending turned out to be surprising. Wimbledon has further shown how chaotic the women's game is, but Maria Sharapova was expected to stand alone at the end and reclaim her crown. Instead, there was one last upset, in favor of new champion Petra Kvitova.

Kvitova was almost a forgotten woman before the final, since all the talk was about Sharapova and her quest for her first Wimbledon crown in seven years. It would have been the longest gap in between championships for this event, yet Sharapova had to actually win it first.

That proved to be more challenging than expected, as Kvitova blew by right from the start. Although the final score was 6-3, 6-4, Sharapova didn't really come that close, in spite of her experience. She was virtually coronated as the winner once all the top seeds were gone, yet it just set her up to be the last big upset victim of the tournament.

In the most wide open women's ranks in years, Kvitova is now right alongside Caroline Wozniacki, Li Na, Vera Zvonareva, Sharapova and more in the race to be No. 1. At the least, Sharapova got herself back into the conversation, and proved she still has enough left in her at age 24. Yet there is still a revolving door of women's champions since the Williams sisters got sidetracked by injuries.

Even the Williams' couldn't pose much of a threat, as they both went down in the fourth round. As long as no one else is overwhelming the field, and as long as No. 1 Wozniacki remains unable to claim a Grand Slam title, the top women seem destined to be bunched up against each other.

This year's Wimbledon results further proved how different the women's game is from the men's, since the men's field continues to be dominated by the same old players. While nothing held to form for the women, right up until the end, the men's No. 1 and No. 2 sailed along on schedule into Sunday's grand finale.

That has been the story through each of the Grand Slams in 2011, as the men's bracket holds to form, while the women's fall into chaos. But these differing results for each circuit may benefit tennis as a whole. Those fans who love unpredictability and chaos can turn to the women's side, while those who love star power and big showdowns can flock to the men's side.

However, the women would like to have some star power, like they did while the Williams sisters were in control. But without them, and with new stars like Kvitova and Na emerging, star power will have to be divided amongst a larger group for the foreseeable future.

Sources

Yahoo Sports- "Kvitova beats Sharapova at Wimbledon for 1'st major"