Meet the unknown Tsvetana Pironkova, surprise Wimbledon Semi-finalist
Not even her countrymen would have thought she would reach the last 4 of the women’s event in the Wimbledon Tennis Championship, but Tsvetana Pironkova from Bulgaria defied the odds and toppled five-time champion Venus Williams to reach the semifinals of the most prestigious tennis tournament on grass.
Her ascent is more surprising considering her country doesn’t have a single grass court or a proper tennis academy. Pironkova's father is her coach, and is also a canoeing champion, which makes him a super sportsman in the land with practically no tennis facilities. But then, it is from such backgrounds that unknown players are born, who after being termed as outsiders, manage to upset living legends.
Pironkova lived a dream when she came out strongly to dethrone five-time champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals. The reason Venus Williams failed against the player ranked 82nd in the world has more to do with faith and passion than with the way she played. The American didn’t seem fit for the match and was no match for the Bulgarian, who capitalized on her opponent’s usual inconsistency. She took down the points as they came by, and never let the advantage slip away. It seemed that Williams, known for her well-placed aces, couldn’t find the magic and hit as less as 3 aces, something least expected from the five-time champion.
After the match, the 22-year old disclosed that grass was an alien surface to her when she first came to London five years back. She said that tennis was her passion from the age of three, when she claims to have hit the ball for the first time, while playing her first tournament four years later helped her get accustomed to the way things would be in the future. But what she did on Tuesday could perhaps be the defining moment of her career, when she toppled her American counterpart in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal ever.
Unlike her opponent in the quarterfinals, who made 29 unforced errors, Pironkova committed just six. She feels the key to her success in the match was her desire to play her natural game and avoid being cheeky. She said she didn't have a particular strategy against Venus Williams and tried to put her first serve as much as she could in the court.
The Bulgarian didn’t seem surprised by the idea that she had reached the last four and is just two matches away from any tennis player’s dream - a Grand Slam title. She however said that she was surprised her match ended quicker than she thought, since she expected a longer, tougher match.
Nevertheless, by reaching the semifinal stage, Pironkova becomes the first woman representing Bulgaria to do so in the Open era. Switzerland’s Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere was the last Bulgarian-born player to reach a Grand Slam semifinal when she reached the U.S. Open last four in 1992 and 1993.
She might go on to play in the finals because in the semifinal, she will face 21st-seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia, who defeated two-time U.S. Open winner Kim Clijsters to also reach her first semifinal at Wimbledon. Zvonareva won the quarterfinal in three sets, and hasn’t been in her best form. A win against her can send the lady from Bulgaria into the grand finale.
The other place in the final will be decided after Serena Williams takes 62nd-ranked Petra Kvitova to court. Searching for her fourth Wimbledon title and 13th Grand Slam championship, Serena seems to be going great. The top-seeded player hit as many as 11 aces in her last match, taking the tournament tally to 73, which is one better than her last year’s record. Whether the Czech Republic player manages to end her Wimbledon fairytale is another topic, but stranger things have happened before!
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