Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeats Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round –French Open 2011
World number sixteen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia registered an impressive victory against compatriot Vera Zvonareva with a 7(7)-6(4), 2-6, 6-2 score line and moved into the quarterfinal of the season’s second major tournament
on Sunday. With this win Pavlyuchenkova has tied their head-to-head record to 1-1 against Zvonareva.
The match between Zvonareva and Pavlyuchenkova turned out to be the toughest match of the day as the two continued to play tremendously but as the errors of the 2010 US Open runner-up mounted, Pavlyuchenkova quickly wrapped up
the match to settle the nerve of her supporters.
Pavlyuchenkova crushed the world number three in the first set in 57 minutes, before an erratic first serve blighted her efforts as Zvonareva hit back with two breaks to tie the score at one set apiece. However, the 19-year-old
Pavlyuchenkova swiftly returned, and having eventually secured the final set, the two-time Monterrey winner surged over the finish line to grab her last-16 place in just 147 minutes.
After the pair had shared the opening games with their trademark booming forehands in full-flow, Zvonareva appeared to be in the driving seat, possessing two break points to leave Pavlyuchenkova looking a little rattled. But the
world number fifteen had other ideas and after coming through a crushing rally to save the second break point, she managed to push the set into a tie-break. Pavlyuchenkova continued to display her tremendous tennis skills and secured all her chances to dominate
the first set 7(7)-6(4).
However, the world number three did not lose her head and found her way to a 6-2 in the second set. After recovering to one-set all, Zvonareva looked set to rock the world number fifteen with four break points towards a lead in
the third set. But Pavlyuchenkova held her serve and powered on to win 6-2 to set up a meeting with the defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy.
Pavlyuchenkova earned a 7-4, 2-6, 6-2 victory by scoring 62 percent of points on her service, 44 percent of points on return and a total number of 98 points in total. In contrast, Zvonareva earned 68 percent of points on her service,
45 percent of points on return and 100 points in total.
Standing in Pavlyuchenkova’s way of her first trip to the Roland Garros quarterfinal is the defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy. This is the fourth career meeting between the two players and Schiavone leads the head-to-head
series 2-1. However, Pavlyuchenkova has never defeated the world number five in clay and a slower surface gives Francesca her best chance.
This match between Pavlyuchenkova and Francesca has all the makings of a blockbuster matchup. Though Francesca is a clear favourite on paper and has far more firepower than her opponent, but Pavlyuchenkova is also playing some
best tennis, so, do not be surprised if the No. 14 seed treats the crowd to a three-set upset.
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