 Zvonareva reaches Wimbledon final
2010-07-01 10:42:00
Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Russian Vera Zvonareva landed in her first career Grand Slam final on Thursday by overcoming upstart Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in semifinal action at Wimbledon 2010. The 21st-seeded Zvonareva's opponent on Saturday will be world No. 1 and defending champion Serena Williams or unseeded Czech lefthander Petra Kvitova.
Zvonareva, who headed to this fortnight as an 80-to-1 longshot to win the title, started slow against Pironkova before rebounding for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 decision on Centre Court at the All England Club. The 22-year-old Pironkova shocked five-time champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals here on Tuesday.
In the first set on Thursday, the surprising Pironkova broke Zvonareva for a 4-2 lead and then cruised to victory in the stanza to stun her Russian counterpart. Zvonareva, however, fought back in the second, as she broke Pironkova for a 4-2 lead en route to an easy set victory herself.
The third set was all Zvonareva, who broke the Bulgarian to open the stanza, and broke again for a commanding 4-1 advantage. The Russian would wind up converting on her second match point when she swatted an unreturnable forehand winner to advance after 1 hour, 46 minutes of tennis.
Zvonareva tallied 31 winners and broke Pironkova on three occasions, compared to only one break for the capable Bulgarian.
The 25-year-old Zvonareva is now 1-1 lifetime against Pironkova, who topped the former top-10 Russian in Zvonareva's native Moscow last season.
The 82nd-ranked Pironkova had never before advanced past the second round in a major tournament before her unprecedented run here.
Zvonareva is 10-12 in her career WTA Tour finals, including a title in Charleston and a runner-up finish in Pattaya City this season.
Since the 2004 French Open, at least one Russian woman has reached 12 of the last 26 Grand Slam finals. The last time a Russian reached the Wimbledon final was Maria Sharapova, who won it, back in 2004.
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