Kvitova takes it all in her stride to win Wimbledon

Petra Kvitova seemed to thrive on the big match atmosphere

When tennis players reach their first Grand Slam final, it is usually expected and accepted they will not produce their best form on the big occasion.

There are sure to be nerves and the uniqueness of the situation is often enough to distract even the best and most experienced of players.

But the refreshing thing about Petra Kvitova's victory over Maria Sharapova was that she didn't seem affected by the situation. If anything, it inspired her to produce some of her best tennis.

She hits the ball so powerfully - particularly with her groundstrokes - and her left-handed serve often perplexes opponents, so the Czech should be around for a long time to come.

The match against Sharapova was probably not the greatest spectacle though.

Sharapova was in her first Wimbledon final since 2004, when she won as a 17-year-old

Kvitova played excellently at times but Sharapova, despite battling hard as always, never really got going as she seemingly realised the enormity of her achievement in coming back from a career-threatening injury to the final of a Grand Slam.

Of the 19 games they played, there were eight breaks of serve and that was the story of the match.

As soon as Sharapova managed to get a breakthrough on Kvitova's serve, the Czech broke straight back so the Russian never managed to get a foothold.

Sharapova has struggled intensely with her serve since shoulder surgery three years ago and the serve can fall apart at any time.

Kvitova realised this so attacked any short or slow deliveries, at times destroying the Russian's serve.

The Czech's return was the key reason behind her victory as she never allowed Sharapova to get into a rhythm on her serve and closed the door on any opportunities the Russian might have seen.

Kvitova hit some crashing returns to ensure Sharapova couldn't settle on her serve

Kvitova sealed the first set quite comfortably and that was a continuation of what she had achieved all the way through the tournament.

She only lost two sets in the whole tournament and every set she won was comfortable, never being forced to a tie-break, with her closest winning set being 6-3 (except for the winning set of the final).

The two sets she lost came after she won the first set and can be put down to a lapse in concentration rather than anything else, as she then went on to win those final sets easily.

It would have been easy for her to realise the enormity of what she was about to achieve against Sharapova and play a poor second set but there was none of that.

She got up an early break and the players then exchanged breaks, but Kvitova was always a step ahead and always looked the favourite.

When Sharapova pulled it back to 3-3, she should have really stepped on Kvitova but the Czech's return game again reaped dividends until she served for the match at 5-4.

She must have been incredibly nervous at that point but showed no signs of feeling the pressure by surprisingly winning her service game to love.

Kvitova was delighted after sealing her success

She won the match with her first ace and that is a sign of the coolness she showed under the most intense of pressure.

Sharapova was very gracious in defeat and that is a marker of how thankful she was to be there after the injury nightmares she endured with her shoulder.

This should just be the start of her comeback into being a major player in women's tennis and, at 24, she will have plenty of opportunities to add to her collection of three Grand Slams.

As for Kvitova though, this should just be the start.

She is just 21 and reached the Wimbledon semi-final last year so all the signs are there for her to become a regular winner of Grand Slams.

Kvitova learned from the experience of losing to Serena Williams in last year's Wimbledon semi-final

Kvitova clearly loves playing on grass and she looked dangerous all tournament, although she will have to deal with the pressure of being one of the favourites in future competitions.

She can definitely still improve and it seems inevitable that she will - she will not just be a flash in the pan who only produces at Wimbledon.

As well as her great serve and the advantage she has with being a left-hander, she also has very powerful groundstrokes, a great backhand slice and the ability to move her opponent around the court so she really does seem to have everything.

Kvitova follows in the footsteps of two of her heroes and compatriots, Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna, in becoming a Grand Slam champion and you sense this is just the beginning for her.

Navratilova and Novotna were both there to see their fellow Czech triumph

She should now go from strength to strength as this win should give her so much confidence as she has won the most important and prestigious tennis tournament in the world.

It will be hard for her to win future major championships, with the women's game also boasting talents like the Williams sisters, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, Sabine Lisicki, Sharapova, Li Na, Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonoreva, but Kvitova appears to be leading the charge.

She destroyed favourite Sharapova in the final of Wimbledon and appeared nerveless so she certainly has the right temperament to go all the way in the game.

Kvitova is very unassuming and seemingly doesn't realise just how good she is, but she is excellent and has the perfect all-round game to challenge anybody.

She also doesn't realise the enormity of what she has achieved just yet but when it does sink in, she will be very proud and hungry for more successes.

This Czech left-hander could win multiple Grand Slams. Now where have we heard that before?