Vera Zvonareva humbles Elena Vesnina to progress to the third round – Wimbledon Championships 2011
On their first ever meeting on English soil it was unfortunate for the Wimbledon crowds that the second round match between Vera Zvonareva and Elena Vesnina was not more
of a match with the Muscovite world No. 3 achieving her seventh 6-1, 7(7)-6(5) victory against the compatriot.
Starting in the evening sunshine and finishing under the artificial lights at All English Tennis Club, and most importantly in front of a stadium with large pockets of Brits,
Zvonareva was so full of life and hostile that she dropped only a single game for a breadstick victory that took her through to play the second set in just 22 minutes.
The second set, however, was a completely different story, with Vesnina racing to a 2-0 lead as Zvonareva suffered from lapses in concentration. Vesnina at the beginning
put up some stubborn resistance after being broken in the fourth game only to break back quickly and level the set at 5-5.
That obstruction proved to be short-lived, however, as Zvonareva then rattled off next two games to push the set into a tie-break. Offering no hope for the compatriot to
come back in the tie-breaker, Zvonareva took just 63 minutes to close out the second set, and progressing into the third round of the tournament.
With Vesnina making more errors than one could expect, Zvonareva extended her lead in their career head-to-head record; she has now won six of their seven matches.
The Russia’s seventh-ranked tennis player, Vesnina lasted one hour and twenty five minutes exchanging shots with despotic Zvonareva in what would ultimately be a comfortable
6-1, 7(7)-6(5) win for the Moscow native, who managed to secure her first grass-court win against the compatriot.
Zvonareva now moves on ahead to face the Bulgarian, Tsvetana Pironkova in the third round of the tournament. Both women will do the battle for the third time in their careers,
and their head-to-head score is tied at one game apiece.
The Russian No.1 has won 30 matches so far, proving she is not fazed by any of the toughest contenders on tour. Pironkova meanwhile has nothing to lose against the top Russian
as she has won a meager six of four matches she played in. However, if the top-ranked Bulgarian could not prove to be too good for the Russian in her second meeting at the Wimbledon since 2010, a good showing should give Pironkova the boost she deserves.
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