Vera Zvonareva steadily regaining top spot
Finally, Vera Zvonareva can hear victory bells ringing for her after bringing down her Slovakian opponent Dominika Cibulkova by 6-0, 3-6 and 6-4. Despite her injury in the right hamstring that forced her to retire from the Bank of West Classic last week, Zvonareva appeared confident and ready for the game at the Mercury Insurance Open on Monday. Vera is ranked as number ninth international tennis player.
The third seed, Vera Zvonareva was the runner-up of the 2010 Wimbledon Championship after losing to Serena Williams in straight sets. This win is her first victory after her encounter with Williams at the All England Club in Wimbledon. The Russian sensation started off aggressively by mounting pressure on Cibulkova and defeated her easily in the first set with a 6-0 drubbing. However, the second round did not bear similar results. She had to focus on her playing strategy after losing the second set and worked on her game and serve.
When questioned about her performance during the match, Vera said, “There were instances when I thought I did my best, and there were certain shots that were poor. At the end of the day, I grabbed the trophy, and that is what really matters.”
A significant improvement in Vera’s play was her grip on the serves in the third set. In the first two rounds of the match, the Russian player had a wavering service game. By concentrating on her serving moves, she enjoyed four out of seven aces with a 71 percent success rate on her first serves, in the final round.
“I deeply concentrated on my play on the third set,” says Vera. “There was no way I was going to let her take me down in the last round. I focused on communicating with my inner-self and played deeply. My serve got better and I finally brought her down.”
Vera’s fans have high hopes from the former number 5 player in international tennis. Critics believe that the 25-year-old Russian star will be soon hitting the major titles. The young player turned into a professional star in year 2000. She has managed to make her presence felt in various tennis festivals. Vera has also seized a bronze medal in Olympic Games, 2008.
Statistics for other matches include the French sixth seed, Marion Bartoli facing Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova in a special night match. The Slovakian shook up the play by combating two match points with an overall result as 3-6, 7-6 (3) and 6-4.
Bartoli was on the lead in the second set by 5-4 where she lost two points. Hantuchova, excited by the chance, chased down a 5-2 lead, while enjoying the tiebreaker. So far, the Slovakian player has a 4-1 record against Bartoli, in addition to a 3-0 score on hard courts.
The former world number 1 Serbian Ana Ivanovic continued on with her struggle to regain her supremacy, but it was all in vain. She lost to number 7 Israeli Shahar Peer by 7-6 (3), 6-3. Her statistics proposed below the line performances, as the French Open Champ 2008, fouled her opening round for the 5th time in the past 11 festivals.
When questioned about her volatile performance, the dejected Serbian player said, “I have been practising really hard, but somehow, I cannot reflect the efforts during the match.” Ana’s rankings have dropped to number 60th due to the continued downfall in her playing in the recent tournaments. “It’s a game of self-confidence. And this is what I lack. I am not sure about my shots when I strike and that’s the worst part.” Ivanovic had already faced a defeat from Peer in Wimbledon during the initial round.
In an another match, the unseeded Russian player, Svetlana Kuznetsova upset the Belgium player and number 8 seed Yanina Wickmayer by defeating her with 6-3, 2-6 and 6-1. Svetlana, the two time Grand Slam winner, managed to pull off the initial five games in the first and third sets.
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