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Petra Kvitova and Wimbledon go together like strawberries and cream. Since 2010, Kvitova has made the quarterfinals or better five times, winning the title twice in 2011 and 2014. The All England Club is where Kvitova has made her mark, emblazoned her name, and played her absolute best. And it’s where she’s been able to kickstart a season when she’s arrived on a sputter.

Kvitova has yet to get her game going in 2016. She made the quarterfinals or better at just two events this year and has slipped out of the Top 10 for the first time since 2013. She will be seeded outside the Top 8 for the first time since 2010. Despite it all, Wimbledon has a firm history of curing all that ails her. Kvitova just needs to get on a roll.

“I remember in 2011, I was injured in my leg, which wasn’t really nice,” Kvitova told WTA Insider. “I was coming from Eastbourne and I remember I was supposed to play on Monday but it was raining so I was so happy to play on Tuesday. I played the final in Eastbourne and I felt like the tournament just continued. It’s not like a new tournament, new Grand Slam, so I was just flowing.

“Nobody really expected – me neither – that I can play so well there. For me it was a really special moment and really a surprise. I didn’t know how to handle it.

“It was totally different [in 2014]. I think in the second Wimbledon I think there was kind of expectations already. It was much more difficult. I played three Czech girls on the journey. I didn’t really feel like I could win it again but I was just so focused. After the final I was just feeling so much deeper, so satisfied with everything. It was something more than the first one.”

Kvitova will be playing Wimbledon without her long-time coach David Kotyza. The two split after the Australian Open and she’s now coached by former ATP player Frantisek Cermak. Their best results of the season came in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open and semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

“I think that I’m kind of feeling that I am playing well, even though I kind of lost some of the matches in a couple of months,” Kvitova said at the Aegon International. “But I think it’s pretty good. The main thing is to stay healthy, for sure. Otherwise I feel good.”

Kvitova said the biggest struggle for her as been keeping focus in matches. “I do work with my mental coach,” she said. “I think it’s getting better, as well. But you never really know. Kind of these [tight] matches, it’s difficult, always under the pressure and the players are playing without any expectation or anything. Sometimes it’s difficult to stay still, very focused on every kind of point.”

In 2014, Kvitova arrived to Wimbledon without a title under her belt for the season. Her draw got her two fairly easy opening opponents before she locked in to beat Venus Williams, 5-7, 7-6(2), 7-5 in one of the best matches of that year. Kvitova then capped it off with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Eugenie Bouchard in just 55 minutes.

As Kvitova says herself, she doesn’t need much practice to matches to play well. They clearly help her confidence, but deep down Kvitova knows her game is there. She just needs to find it in time.

“I just know that it’s there,” Kvitova said. “[The way] you were training before you can’t really forget.”

Listen to more of Kvitova’s thoughts on the upcoming Championships in the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast:

Click here to read more about this year’s Wimbledon Contenders, courtesy of WTA Insider.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

Seed exodus: And on Day 4, the seeds began to fall en masse. Eight of the Top 10 women remain in the draw but French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza bowed out to Jana Cepelova in straight sets and No.7 seed Belinda Bencic was forced to retire with a left wrist injury to Julia Boserup. Bencic said she began to feel pain in her wrist a few days ago.

The seeds to fall on Thursday included Karolina Pliskova, Johanna Konta, Sam Stosur, Elina Svitolina, Sara Errani, Jelena Jankovic, Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic, and Andrea Petkovic.

Venus Williams’ rallying cry for equality: When Thursday’s order of play came out on Wednesday night, social media was a’Twitter with the sight of five-time Wimbledon champion and No.8 seed Venus Williams on Court 18. Don’t let the number fool you. Court 18 is arguably the No.5 court at the All England Club. But was it disrespectful to put such a great champion there instead of one of the bigger show courts?

The question was put to Venus after her three-set win over Greek qualifier Maria Sakkari, and she made it clear that she’s not about special treatment. She’s about equality.

“I wasn’t unhappy to play on Court 18,” Venus said. “I just want equality for men’s and women’s matches. That’s what I’m unhappy about. I have no problem where I play. I’ll play on the practice courts if I need to. I have no problem with that.”

Venus said this wasn’t about whether she should be bumping other women off the bigger courts. The question is whether the men were ever put in a similar situation.

Q. Could you imagine a five time male champion being on an outside court?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I haven’t seen that in the scheduling yet (smiling).

“It’s not the ideal schedule for the women,” Venus continued, referring to the fact that men still hold a majority of the slots on Centre Court and No.1 Court. “We’d like to see equal amount of matches. We don’t want more, just the same amount, that’s all.

“I’m sure that the WTA supervisors have done their best to try to make the schedule equal. But also the All England Club has to have a culture where they want to have equality, as well. They need to want to pursue that. I would love to see where we don’t have to talk about this any more in the press conference.”

Venus plays her third round match against No.29 seed Daria Kasatkina on No.1 Court on Friday.

Jana Cepelova cements her big match reputation: Two years ago it was beating Serena Williams in straight sets at the Volvo Car Open en route to the biggest final of her career. Last year, here at Wimbledon, she ousted Simona Halep in the first round. And on Thursday, Jana Cepelova stunned No.2 Garbiñe Muguruza 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the third round.

“I like to play against biggest stars, of course, against the champions,” Cepelova said. “And I try to keep winning against these champions player.”

The 23-year-old from Slovakia had four good wins under her belt before playing Muguruza, having come through qualifying and winning her first round match. A former Top 50 player, she is current ranked at No.124. Last year she came down with pneumonia right before the Australian Open and had to spend six days in the hospital. It took her more months to fully recover but she hopes Thursday’s win will be a springboard for a return to the Top 100.

“It’s tough because if I’m in the rankings around 120, you have small points and it’s not easy to be back,” she said. Her next challenge will be Lucie Safarova, who beat Samantha Crawford in straight sets.

Garbiñe Muguruza needs some rest: One of the biggest challenges to completing the so-called Channel Slam is the emotional balance of celebrating your win in Paris while being ready to fight in London. Muguruza did not have much of a break after Paris and that may have been her undoing on Thursday.

“Well, I think my energy was missing a little bit today,” Muguruza said. “From yesterday I felt already a little bit tired, I think is the best word. And today during the match, and after the match, I’m like, It’s a tough day today. I feel empty a little bit, and I start to be sick.

“But I think it was a little bit of combination. I think she played great, with no fear. She was trying a lot of stuff that was working. My energy was not really there. I was trying, but didn’t work at all.

“I think I will have to rest more, not keep practicing the same hard to prepare another Grand Slam because it’s very fast. I think I will have to take more careful those days where you have to rest. Even though you want to play, I don’t want to miss a day, but sometimes it’s better to rest because it’s going to make you play better. You don’t think, like, practicing 10 hours a day is going to make you play better after you don’t have energy.”

Eugenie Bouchard puts on a performance: The 2014 finalist beat No.16 seed Johanna Konta 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 to move into the third round. “I think it’s my best performance of 2016,” Bouchard said afterwards. Next up is a tough match against Dominika Cibulkova. The Canadian has never lost to Cibulkova, but both their matches went the distance, including last summer’s third round at the US Open.

Agnieszka Radwanska’s great escape: The No.3 seed avoided the rash of seeds bowing out, saving three match points to beat Ana Konjuh 6-2, 4-6, 9-7. Konjuh took an ugly spill at 7-7 in the third set after she chased down a short ball and missed, only to step on the ball and twist her right ankle. It was incredibly bad luck for Konjuh, who served for the match twice and was playing the best match of her young career.

Julia Boserup’s Grand Slam debut: The 24-year-old American is into the third round after Bencic retired. The California native, ranked No.225, is playing in her first major and she’ll play Elena Vesnina for a spot in the second week. And Boserup is keeping the Danish press busy. Her parents are Danish and she still has family in Copenhagen, and much to the delight of reporters she’s fluent in Danish. Click here for an Insider profile on Boserup.

Karolina Pliskova’s Grand Slam struggles continue: Seemingly in form after making the final of the Aegon International, the World No.17 has still yet to make the fourth round of a major.

That’s just stats: The scoreline in the Bouchard-Konta match was deceptive, especially in the first two sets. The games repeatedly went to 30 or deuce, and it was so intense that Bouchard completely lost track of things.

Q. Did it feel strange to have that many break points in the second set yet lose it 6-1?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I had a lot of break points in the second set?
Q. Eight.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Really? Yeah. (Laughter.) Well, I didn’t know that. Thank you. Now that you tell me, yeah, that’s not an ideal statistic.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

LONDON, Great Britain – No.19 seed Dominika Cibulkova moved on to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2011 after a comprehensive win over former finalist Eugenie Bouchard.

“Today I was 100 percent sure I could win and I stayed calm, played brave in tough situations and went for my shots,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “The things I’ve been working on, especially the serve have really helped me.”

Cibulkova smelled success early on, getting the first break in the fourth game of the match. Despite facing break points in her opening service game, the Slovak’s speed around the court and powerful groundstrokes, especially off the forehand wing, were clicking together and she was able to see off the challenge.

She held three set points on her serve at 5-3 when Bouchard finally roared back to get her first break of the match. Her delight was short lived, however, as Cibulkova put away the set on her next chance.

Bouchard got broken once more in the second for a 4-1 lead to Cibulkova and her frustration was clear, receiving a point penalty for throwing her racquet after yet another of her usually-reliable groundstrokes sailed long.

“I definitely was a bit emotional out there,” Bouchard said. “It’s frustrating to feel like you’re not playing your best tennis at Wimbledon. You know, sometimes when I get it out, I can turn it around and play a bit better. It didn’t really happen this time, though.”

After an hour and twenty-six minutes, Cibulkova became the first player in the top half of the draw to punch her ticket into the fourth round, and she celebrated the occasion with a mighty roar of elation.

“That's a primeval roar!”

Dominika Cibulkova is celebrating after beating Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-3#Wimbledon https://t.co/jw2P80YI2t

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2016

Despite hitting 24 winners to Cibulkova’s 17, it was Bouchard’s unforced error count that cost her in the important moments, hitting 16 to Cibulkova’s 19. The Canadian also failed to capitalize on her break point chances, converting just one of four while Cibukova put away three of nine.

With the victory, Cibukova has now won eight matches in a row on grass courts, a streak extending back to her run to the title at the grass court tune up event in Eastbourne. Cibulkova also grabbed her first win over Bouchard, having lost to her in three sets in both of her previous matches.

This marks the first time since Cibulkova’s quarterfinal run in 2011 that she’s reached the second week at Wimbledon, and she awaits the winner between Agnieszka Radwanska and Katerina Siniakova.

“It’s all coming together,” Cibulkova said. “Here we are, I won Eastbourne and now I’m in the fourth round here and it feels great. I just want to keep going.”

LONDON, England – On Saturday afternoon Serena Williams tied Steffi Graf’s long-standing Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles with victory over Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final.

To celebrate the historic feat, wtatennis.com is going to run down 22 of the more memorable numbers from a truly remarkable career…

750,000 – The amount in dollars Serena received for winning her first major, the 1999 US Open; the prize money for victory at this year’s Wimbledon was around $2,590,000

346 – It has taken Serena 346 matches to win her 22 majors; Graf won her 22nd title (1999 Roland Garros) in her 303rd match

304 – Serena has the second-most Grand Slam match wins in Open Era with 304 (Martina Navratilova 306)

83 – At all four Grand Slam tournaments, Serena has an 83% or better winning percentage: Australian Open (74-10, 88%), Roland Garros (60-12, 83%, Wimbledon 66-10, 90%), US Open (84-10, 89%)

79 – Serena has won nearly 79% of her 28 Grand Slam finals. Her only defeats came at the 2001 US Open (to Venus Williams), 2004 Wimbledon (to Maria Sharapova), 2008 Wimbledon (to Venus Williams), 2011 US Open (to Sam Stosur), 2016 Australian Open (to Kerber) and 2016 Roland Garros (to Garbiñe Muguruza). This is the second-best winning percentage in the Open Era after Court (11-1)

64 – Remarkably, Serena has won more than a third of the 64 Grand Slams that she has contested

30 – Nine of Serena’s 22 majors have come after turning 30; by winning the Wimbledon final, Williams (who is 34 years and 287 days old at the end of the tournament) also broke her own record as the oldest Open Era Grand Slam champion

22 – She has now equaled Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles and moved within touching distance of Margaret Court’s all-time leading tally of 24

20 – Since Serena lifted the 1999 US Open, 20 different women have tasted Grand Slam success

18 – The age Serena won her first Grand Slam title, at the 1999 US Open 

16 – Serena has the longest winning span between majors of any woman in the Open Era at 16 years and 10 months between 1999 US Open and 2016 Wimbledon (Chris Evert, Navratilova and Graf had 12-year spans)

14 – Of her 22 Slam final victories, 14 have come in straight sets

12 – This fortnight Serena was playing her 22nd major as the No.1 seed. She has won 12 of them

9 – Nine of Serena’s Grand Slam titles have come alongside current coach Patrick Mouratoglou

8 – Serena won eight straight Grand Slam singles finals between 2012 Wimbledon and 2015 Wimbledon; losses on each side were 2011 US Open (Samantha Stosur) and 2016 Australian Open (Kerber)

7 – Victory over Kerber brought Serena her seventh title at Wimbledon – her most successful Grand Slam venue; she has six titles at both the Australian and US Opens, and three at Roland Garros

6 – Serena has successfully defended major titles on six occasions during her career: 2003 Wimbledon, 2010 Australian Open, 2010 Wimbledon, 2013 US Open, 2014 US Open, 2016 Wimbledon

5 – Against Top 5-seeds at Grand Slams Serena has a better record than any other player in the Open Era (minimum five matches), winning 26 and losing just four

4 – On two separate occasions in her career, Serena has held all four Slams simultaneously – 2014 US Open to 2015 Wimbledon, and 2002 Roland Garros to 2003 Australian Open

3 – Third time’s a charm: before Saturday, the only woman in tennis history who had won the third major of a year after losing in the first two finals – as Williams has now done – was Navratilova in 1987

2 – Just two of Serena’s 22 major final wins have come over left-handers (2015 Roland Garros – Lucie Safarova, 2016 Wimbledon – Kerber)

1 – Serena’s only victory at a major as an unseeded player came at the 2007 Australian Open, when she had slipped to No.81 following a series of injuries.