A year in review of Tsvetana Pironkova – Tennis Special
Bulgarian star, Tsvetana Pironkova, enjoyed a successful season this year after making a fourth round showing at the US Open and reaching semis at the Tournament of Champions in Sofia.
After a dismal display of Tennis at the Hopman Cup exhibition event in the start of the season, Pironkova high-spiritedly entered the Moorilla Hobart International standing at number 48 in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings.
The Bulgarian shining star then made a second round showing at the Australian Open before stunning third seed Li Na in the opening round at the Open GDF Suez in Paris. She then made a third round appearance at the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha before bowing out to fifth seed Marion Bartoli.
However, after exiting from second round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Pironkova fell to a five-match losing streak. She crashed out from the opening round at following four clay court events.
She snapped out from it in late May at the Brussels Open. Pironkova secured a quarter-final berth there after upsetting 10th seed Nadia Petrova in straight sets. She then made a round of 64 showing at the French Open before bowing out to former champion, Francesca Schiavone.
Pironkova shared a similar fate in the grass season. She cruised into the quarter-finals at the AEGON International including registering an upset victory against top seed Agnieszka Radwanska. The Bulgarian lost Tamira Paszek in the final eight before reaching second round at the Wimbledon Championships in the following week.
After stunning 12th seeded Dominika Cibulkova at the London Olympics, Pironkova fell to a three-match losing streak. However, she went berserk at the US Open and breezed past her opponents to reach the fourth round.
Currently standing at 42nd in the WTA Premier Rankings, Pironkova displayed brilliant skills at the year-ending Tournament of Champions at her home soil. She stunned sixth seed Jie Zheng in her opening round robin match. However, the Bulgarian was outclassed against third seed Maria Kirilenko in her second round robin match. Pironkova lost her match against Nadia Petrova but managed to secure a semi-final date with top seed Caroline Wozniacki.
The 25-year-old enjoyed her season after recording consistent results and reaching far in tournaments. She was quoted in an interview to WTA:
"It has been a very dramatic year for me. Overall I'm happy with my results. I had more consistent results this year compared to the previous years, which was one of my goals, and the highlight for me was reaching the fourth round at the US Open and the semis of Hopman Cup with Grigor Dimitrov. But of course I realize there are still many things I need to work on!"
The Bulgarian star is currently on an intense training schedule at her home soil. She is eyeing for an improvement in every aspect of tennis especially her fitness level. Pironkova reflected, "I am training really hard at the moment! I'm at home in Plovdiv. I'm working on improving everything, especially fitness, so that my body is ready for the next season."
Pironkova’s main goal for the upcoming season is to capture a WTA title.
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