Wimbledon headlines are known to feature top names in the women's game like Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova. But if there's one player that tennis fans need to look out for, it's none other than defending women's singles champion Petra Kvitova.

The Czech is not the typical flamboyant tennis star or the highest paid female athlete in the world, but she can fire missiles from both sides and her left hand serve is one of the biggest in the women's game. At last year's Championships, she defeated up-and-coming Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard in a final match that's best described as a "relentless annihilation". And she has a big chance of a repeat performance this year as the 25-year-old seeks for her third Wimbledon singles crown.

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Despite having a lucrative contract with the International Management Group whose roster includes big guns like Sharapova and Bouchard and a recent revealing photoshoot that features the champion sitting on a chair and wearing nothing but a pair of black stilettos as tribute to a 1960s photo of former showgirl named Christine Keeler, Kvitova remains modest on and off the court.

"I am a simple girl from a simple background and I think fans have appreciated my authenticity, What you see is definitely what you get with me," she told BBC. "I don't pretend to be any different just because I win tennis matches, so hopefully brands appreciate my approach and my likeability, because it's who I am."

In the period between the French Open and Wimbledon, Kvitova took some time off without playing a tournament. And coming in to the All England Club, she admitted that she didn't have much preparation due to an illness but hopes to give a hundred percent when she faces Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands on Tuesday for her first round match.

If all goes well for the world no. 2, she may face Williams in the finals whom she defeated only once in six attempts. In an interview, she acknowledged the American's chance of winning all four majors this year and considered her as the biggest threat to the title.

 "I think she is a really big champion," Kvitova told the Guardian, "She's always trying to find good form for the important points." 

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