Vera Zvonareva reaches Wimbledon final, Tsvetana Pironkova out
Vera Zvonareva has reached the Wimbledon final after fighting back from a set behind to defeat Tsvetana Pironkova in the semi-finals.
Zvonareva’s 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over the Bulgarian means that for the first time in her career, the world No. 21 is through to the final of a Grand Slam, while Pironkova’s Wimbledon title ambitions – however unlikely they may have been at the start of the tournament - must now be put on hold for at least another year.
After the pair played out an evenly matched opening few games, it was Pironkova who brought up a triple break point opportunity in the sixth game of the match, and after Zvonareva saved one, gained what was a very lucky break as the net cord helped a forehand trickle over to the Russian’s side of the court.
Perhaps, though, it was more of a case of fortune favouring the brave, as the world No. 82 gained reward for beginning her biggest match of her career with the confidence to go for, and often enough make, the shots that had helped her reach that point in the first place.
Having opened up the lead, Pironkova continued to play with aggression and after 32 minutes on court the underdog had once again shocked the crowd in SW19 as she took the lead against her seeded opponent for the third time in the tournament.
Indeed, while Zvonareva had reached semis of a Grand Slam for the second time in her career after a run that included wins against 15th seed Yanina Wickmayer, fourth seeded Jelena Jankovic (who retired injured from their fourth round match), and US Open champion Kim Clijsters in the quarters, Pironkova had been equally impressive in her last two matches, defeating 11th seed Marion Bartoli in straight sets in the round of 16 and then recording a straight sets victory over five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the quarters.
The 21st seed, who had fought back from a set behind to defeat Clijsters, looked to once again lift her game in what had become a must-win second set, but until the sixth game was unable to pierce Pironkova’s defences.
Having created her first break point opportunity of the match, however, Zvonareva made no mistake about converting it as she arrived at the net for the 21st time in the match, having won the point on the vast majority of occasions she’d elected to do so.
While Pironkova continued to deliver some powerful ground strokes from the baseline, the former world No. 5 was finding success with more of an all-court game that combined power with finesse evidenced in more than one well executed drop shot that her baseline-hugging opponent didn’t stand a chance of reaching.
And after doing the hard yards to fight back into the match, it was Zvonareva’s turn for a little bit of luck, with the net cord deadening a forehand enough to secure her the set on the first opportunity she had to take it.
The 25-year-old didn’t need to rely on chance, however, to secure the break of serve in the opening game of the deciding set and consolidate it in the next as Zvonareva put one foot in the Wimbledon final.
Having come so far in the tournament, Pironkova wasn’t about to go out without a fight, saving two break points in the third game of the set, but she couldn’t prevent Zvonareva securing the break and the 4-1 lead in the fifth.
When Pironkova squandered a double break point chance in the next game, and two points later Zvonareva greeted an average drop shot with a backhand down the line to move to a 5-1 lead in the set, the Bulgarian’s dream of reaching the final had surely slipped away.
So it proved, with Zvonareva claiming victory in her next service game to book a date with either defending champion Serena Williams for Petra Kvitova in the final.
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