Vera Zvonareva – Road to Wimbledon 2010 Final
The first semi-final match that took place in Centre Court on Thursday saw Russia’s Vera Zvonareva beat the 82 seed Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 3-6, 6-3 and 6-2 at Wimbledon 2010. The Russian kept her nerves calm throughout the match as she jumped back from a first set defeat and clinch victory over the 22-year-old Bulgarian. The 21st seed qualified for her first Wimbledon final and for her, it’s a dream come true.
Tsvetana Pironkova earlier in her quarter-finals match shocked the whole world after she defeated the world number 2 Venus Williams and qualified for the first time to the semi-finals. The Bulgarian started the first set in a dominant way and hit some outstanding shots all around the court. Pironkova left no choice for the Russian to submit in the first set in the same way as she did with Venus in the quarterfinals. The 82 seed started the match nervously against Zvonareva. Even though she had already defeated Zvonareva in their previous meetings but she was not able to gain confidence in the match. As the match started, the Russian played some loose shots and gave an opportunity to the Bulgarian to pound back. With the help of heavy serves and stunning backhand volleys Pironkova took an early lead against the Russian. Zvonareva tried to match the swiftness of the Bulgarian but failed at every try. Sooner than later, Pironkova started to gain her confidence in the game and played the set with utmost ease.
At 2-0, Zvonareva made a short comeback in the game and won game 3 of the first set. She kept on building the pressure on the Bulgarian but Pironkova responded back strongly and took the next game from her hand. In game 6 of the first set, she grasped her second break point as she played a forehand drive right over the net for a point. Zvonareva was starting to feel the pressure in the match as Pironkova’s heavy ground strokes and the changes in the pace troubled her. Pironkova took the first set from Zvonareva’s hand with ease and got herself ready for the next set. The second set went in favour of the Russian as she showed her dominance in the court by winning the opening game. An early lead into the match built some pressure on the Bulgarian number 1 as she started finding ways to get back into the match. The Russian kept on pressurizing Pironkova and pushed her to deuce in game 4 of the set. Zvonareva jumped back in game 6 with some thrilling forehand shots followed by a backhand winner on break point. Zvonareva won the second set of the match with her attacking nature and firm nerve.
As the third set came into action the score levelled with both players winning one set each. The Russian made a break early in the third set and lead with 1-0 against Pironkova. From there on, Zvonareva played dominantly in the court and failed to give any opportunity to the Bulgarian player. Pironkova did win game 4 of the third set and closed the score margin to 3-1 but was not able to keep her momentum going. Zvonareva saved two breakpoints in game 6 of the set and confirmed her win over the Bulgarian. She at last sealed her victory in the set with a powerful forehand that went roaming over the net for a point. The match between the two lasted for 1 hour and 46 minutes longer than the other semi-final match between Serena and Kvitova. The 25-year-old showed amazing talent after she lost the first set of the match, but later made a comeback and scored a straight victory in set 2 and set 3.
Vera Zvonareva will now compete against the previous Wimbledon Champion and the current world number 1 Serena Williams in the final for the title. It would be a tough call for Zvonareva as she would compete with Williams for the Wimbledon Championship 2010.
Tags: