Vera Zvonareva chases Anna Tatishvili in the quarter final – Baku Cup 2011
Friday, 22nd of July, was the start of the quarter finals; the two players meeting for the first time were the Russian Vera Zvonareva and the Georgian Anna Tatishvili. It was a close match of 3 hours, 2 minutes and 30
seconds between both the players but Vera won the match 7-5, 6-7(4), 62 at the Baku Tennis Academy, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Seed number three; Vera opened the set confidently and smashed two aces, the crowd cheered for their favourite player. However, in the next few minutes Vera’s accuracy had failed her and she struck four double faults one after
the other, out of which three hit the net whilst the other was a line fault. While Vera’s return game was exceptional, her serve was an average. The match at this moment was a close tie as both the players were neck on neck, Anna with a superb serve and average
return had only struck three line faults.
Additionally Vera’s defence was above average and she was able to save three break point s out of the five she had committed and won a hundred percent of her break points, on the other hand, Anna did not have a such a strong defence
and was not able to save any of her break points committed and managed to win only forty percent of her break points. This gave Vera a competitive edge over her opponent and she won the set with a mere four more points than Anna.
By the end of an exciting first set, Vera was boosting with confidence but at the same time her opponent had kept her on her toes and was thus a bit tired. This time Anna served with a resoluteness of equalizing the set, although
her current ranking is ninety three, by now she knew her opponent’s style and technique. Although Anna did not ace, she was able to win a walloping seventy four percent of the first serve opening the set. Both the players had rallied it out but this time
Anna was the one to gain an upper hand on her opponent as her defence was far stronger than Vera’s and she committed no break points. However, Vera was not to give up, she closed in on Anna, both the players were standing at 6-6 and the set went into a tie
breaker. It was pin drop silence as both the players were rallying it out however, Anna won two consecutive game points and thus eventually won the set 7-6(4).
This was the deciding set of the match and the score card read 1-1 for both the players. Anna and Vera had contested for almost 2 hours and 30 minutes; both players were tired but this was a true test of one’s mettle and endurance.
Vera opened the set by smashing an ace and although her precession faltered striking three double faults on the net, and had an average, serve and return serve. For a few brief moments the spectators thought Vera had lost control, however that wasn’t the case
instead she quickly managed to regain her control and took hold of her defence; only giving one break point opportunity to her opponent along with winning all the break point chances, she won the set in a comprehensive victory over Anna, winning 6-2.
The match was an exhibition of endurance and patience, both the players had played exhilaratingly. However, the best women won the match. Vera being world number 3 had an upper hand as she knew how to stick out and hence, was able
to secure a place in the semi final.
Vera Zvonareva will now be contesting against Mariya Koryttseva in the semi final.
Tags: