Venus Williams vs. Tsvetana Pironkova – Fourth Round Preview: Wimbledon Championships 2011
Wimbledon Championships enters its final rounds, with 16 top class women competing for glory at the greatest stages of tennis world. World number 30, Venus Williams of the United States takes on the 33rd ranked Tsvetana
Pironkova of Bulgaria in the fourth round clash on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals of the third Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Five times Wimbledon champion, Venus is making her comeback in to the pro tennis world after her hip muscle injury she suffered during her Australian Open campaign. Her injury caused her to miss the French Open as well but her
return at Wimbledon has been the most impressive one.
The hard-hitting American has displayed typical power game throughout the tournament, forcing her way to the fourth round. Venus proved totally merciless against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the third round clash, ejecting the
Spaniard in straight sets 6-0, 6-2, to book a date with Pironkova. She had a tough time in the second round encounter against the Japanese veteran, Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan but recovered with great mastery from a deficit of one set to continue her voyage
at Wimbledon.
The other competitor, Pironkova is yet to lose a set in the tournament and has won all of her initial round matches in straight sets, depicting her sublime form. She made a huge upset in the third round when she outplayed the world
number three, Vera Zvonareva of Russia, to meet Venus in the final 16. Pironkova blasted at the second seed Zvonareva and took her down in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, to sideline one of the strongest competitors from the race to glory.
The 23-year-old Bulgarian has been in an ordinary form prior to Wimbledon, as she lost 15 out of 21 matches she played in the running WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) season. However, her most recent victory over the world number
three will certainly raise her confidence to a maximum and she will step in the court against Venus with intentions of taking her down, as she did with Zvonareva.
The last encounter between these two women was held on the same venue last year, when Pironkova surprised Venus in the quarter-final of Wimbledon in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, to reach the semis. The Bulgarian leads the over-all head-to-head
record against Venus by 2-1 and will certainly desire to improve it further by winning the fourth round clash. The Monday afternoon’s matchup is said to be a rematch of the last year’s clash between the two players and as Venus has recently came out of injury,
it is anticipated that the Bulgarian might come out as the winner this time again.
The American has won the Wimbledon Championships five times and is the hot favourite for winning the title again this time. However, the typical Venus aggression has been missed by many tennis fans in her opening round matches
and she appeared a bit rusty at times. Pironkova defeated Venus last year at Wimbledon, which makes her the favourite for Monday’s matchup. It is not certain that which of two top class players will win but one thing is for sure that it will be nail biting
contest on when these two step on court for a place in the quarter-final.
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