Injured Vera Zvonareva pulls out of round two; Monica Niculescu advances – Qatar Total Open 2012
Sad news for the Russian tennis fans, as the defending champion, Vera Zvonareva, pulled out of her opening match at the Qatar Total Open, in Qatar, Doha, on Wednesday. The sixth seed dropped the opener at 5-7 and was leading 3-2 against Romania’s Monica
Niculescu in the second set of the match when a serious left hip injury forced her to stop playing any further. The 31st ranked Romanian received a retirement victory and a berth in the third round of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier
Tour event.
Currently holding the eighth spot in the WTA World Rankings, Zvonareva has been struggling for her form and fitness for the past few months. She has a 4-3 winning record for the season prior to coming at Qatar and ended her campaign in a dismal fashion.
The 27-year-old Russian has already defeated Niculescu in her their first encounter back in 2008 at Bangalore, India but her debilitating physical condition didn’t allow her to repeat that result in her Wednesday’s matchup.
She appeared rusty right from the beginning and her sloppy game play hinted something wrong with her fitness right from the beginning of the match. Zvonareva kept fighting with her aggressive opponent and with her itching injury at the same time, eventually
losing the opening set with a narrow margin. She pushed harder in the next set and was leading 3-2 but fell to the ground due to agonising pain in her left hip. After a long massage session with her physio along the sidelines, Zvonareva finally decided to
quit playing the match and gifted Niculescu a berth in the round of 32 at the star-studded tournament.
"I'm disappointed I couldn't finish the match, but I did everything I could," expressed the defending champion in her post match reviews. "I've always had great memories from Doha - I've been here so many times and had some great results, and I was looking
forward to playing my best and trying to defend my title. But this is all part of the game. I'll rest for a few days and we'll see. Hopefully it's not too serious."
Zvonareva’s retirement let the Romanian through to the third round of the Qatar Total Open, where she will face the Ukrainian qualifier, Kateryna Bondarenko, for a place in the quarter-finals. Bondarenko stunned the Italian veteran, Flavia Pennetta, in straight
sets 6-4, 6-2 in the second round clash on Wednesday.
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