Vera Zvonareva vs Tsvetana Pironkova in Wimbledon semis
Whether the fact so many of the top seeds are missing from the final four at Wimbledon is a testament to the evenness of women’s tennis at present, or a symptom of its lack of top-class talent is a debate for another day.
Whatever the answer to that question, the ladies’ singles has thrown up a semi-final between 21st seed Vera Zvonareva and a player ranked outside the top 80 in Tsvetana Pironkova alongside another semi that will be decided between top seed Serena Williams and the unseeded Petra Kvitova.
Zvonareva has reached the second Grand Slam semi-final of her career after a run that has included victories over 15th seed Yanina Wickmayer, fourth seed Jelena Jankovic (who retired hurt from their fourth round match), and eighth seed Kim Clijsters in the quarters, a match where the Russian fought back from a set behind to claim a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over the US Open champion.
Pironkova has been similarly impressive in her last two matches, dismissing 11th seed Marion Bartoli in straight sets in the fourth round and then dictating terms to five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in her 6-2, 6-3 quarter-final victory.
“Coming here, I really just wanted to play a good game, to maybe win or two rounds. But semi-final looked to me very far,” Pironkova said after recording the biggest win of her career to date. “I still cannot believe that I reached the semi-finals. This is truly like a dream to me, and I will try to enjoy it as much as I can.”
If the world No. 82’s past record against Zvonareva is anything to judge by then her cup of joy may be full to over-flowing after their semi-final clash: in one previous meeting between the pair, it’s the Bulgarian who has taken the honours, conceding just two games to the 25-year-old in Moscow last year.
This time around though the more experienced Zvonareva will know what to expect from Pironkova, it’s just a matter of whether the sometimes volatile player can combat it better than Venus could in the previous round.
“I think she's all over the court player,” Zvonareva said of her next opponent, who, remarkably, only played on grass for the first time five years ago. “You know, it's hard to predict what she's doing on the court. Sometimes she can slice; sometimes she can hit the ball; sometimes she can play slow; sometimes she can play fast. You never know what to expect, so you lose your rhythm.
“I just know that in that match I will have to concentrate on myself and execute my game no matter what the score, no matter what she's trying to do.”
It’s an approach that served the former top-five player well as she claimed the first victory of her career against Clijsters in the quarter-finals, and she’ll now need to call upon all her experience against a player in the form of her life so far, and one who, against an opponent who has won more titles at Wimbledon than any other active player, refused to become overwhelmed by the sense of occasion.
This may be an unexpected semi-final match-up, but if both players produce the form that has got them to this stage of the tournament on the day, then it could be an exciting contest indeed.
Prediction: Zvonareva to book a place in the final in three sets.
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