Wimbledon Tennis : Tsvetana Pironkova Vera Zvonareva making ladies semi finals execiting
In ladies’ tennis at the Grand Slam level there is less likely to be outrageous swings, but like the unseeded wild card Goran Ivanisevic claiming the men's title in 2001, there have been a few unseeded women in the semi-finals at Wimbledon this year.
The women’s final has never had unseeded players, but back in 1969, Rosie Casals got to the last four, where she faced second seeded Billie Jean King. Casals was blasted 6-1 6-0. Next year King defeated unseeded Francoise Durr in the semifinal with 6-3 7-5, and in 1971, top-seeded Margaret Court eliminated Judy Dalton with 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.
Yvonne Vermaak (1983) and Catarina Lindqvist (1989) both lost in the semi-finals, while in 1994, there were two unseeded semi-finalists, Lori McNeil and Gigi Fernandez. Meredith McGrath got through to the last four in 1996, as well as Anna Kournikova in 1997 and Natasha Zvereva in 1998. Next year, qualifier Alexandra Stevenson was in the semi-final.
Since Jelena Dokic in 2000, Wimbledon has not seen an unseeded woman in the semi-final. Yet in 2007, Venus Williams won the title as the lowest ranked player, holding the 23rd seed.
Wild ladies in the semi
No one in their right mind would have forecast Tsvetana Pironkova and Vera Zvonareva both making it to the ladies’ semi-finals at Wimbledon.
Zvonareva is at least ranked 21 in the world, having been No.5 last year. Pironkova, on the other hand is 82, has never been past round two at the All England Club, and fell seven times in the qualifiers in 2010.
"I first played on grass five years ago at qualifying for Wimbledon," she commented. "Back then I thought, 'Wow. It's impossible. How can I play on this surface?' Wimbledon has always been like a religion to me. It is the first tournament, the oldest tournament. Growing up, every player is looking at Wimbledon. They say, 'One day I want to play there.' That's like a dream. I still cannot believe that I reached the semi-finals. This is truly like a dream to me."
Zvonareva's mindset having made the semi-finals is a little different. The 25-year-old Russian sat out much of last year’s season due to an ankle injury. Yet she did make it to the semi-finals in Australia last year, and won at Birmingham in 2006. Her singles ranking will go up to at least 11 after her win over Kim Clijsters in the Wimbledon quarter-final.
"You always dream about it," she said. "I always believe in myself and believe I can be here. But when you go through a lot of injuries in your career, it puts a lot of doubts in your head. You lose a lot of confidence. I was frustrated that my injuries were not going away. But I knew it was just a matter of time. I believe that if you do that, you will achieve."
Don’t mess with the Bulgarian
Apparently, Pironkova is not just a troublesome opposition for Venus, but has some pull with Zvonareva as well, having defeated her last year in Moscow.
"She's an all-over-the-court player," says Zvonareva about Pironkova. " It's hard to predict what she will do. Sometimes she can slice; sometimes she can hit the ball; sometimes she can play slow; sometimes fast. You never know what to expect, so you lose your rhythm. Then you start thinking too much. I know I will have to concentrate on myself and execute my game no matter what the score, no matter what she's trying to do."
Pironkova has cheerful memories of their meeting. "I made a convincing win," she smiled. "I played really well."
Another similar win on Thursday would be remarkable. It is difficult to believe Zvonareva will deliver yet again, under incredible pressure, in completely unfamiliar territory in the semis on Centre Court.
Tags: