Vera Zvonareva
 at the 2009 US Open |
|
| Country |  Russia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Moscow, Russia |
| Date of birth | September 7, 1984 |
| Place of birth | Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 59.1 kg (130 lb; 9.31 st) |
| Turned pro | September, 2000 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Career prize money | $6,838,321 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 361–174 |
| Career titles | 10 WTA, 2 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (February 2, 2009) |
| Current ranking | No. 8 (August 23, 2010) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | SF (2009) |
| French Open | QF (2003) |
| Wimbledon | F (2010) |
| US Open | QF (2010) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Championships | F (2008) |
| Olympic Games |  Bronze medal (2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 138–91 |
| Career titles | 5 WTA, 0 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 9 (August 8, 2005) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (2005) |
| French Open | QF (2006) |
| Wimbledon | F (2010) |
| US Open | W (2006) |
| Mixed Doubles | |
| Career record | - |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | W (2006) |
| US Open | W (2004) |
| Last updated on: October 12, 2009. | |
| Olympic medal record | ||
| Women's Tennis | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 2008 Beijing | Singles |
Vera Igorevna Zvonareva (Russian: Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, pronounced ['vʲɛrə zvənɐ'rʲɔvə] (
listen); born September 7, 1984) is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. She has reached a career high of World No. 5 and is currently ranked World No. 8. Zvonareva has won ten WTA Tour singles titles and was runner up at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, 2008 WTA Tour Championships and a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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Early life
Zvonareva was born September 7, 1984 in Moscow, Russia to Igor Zvonarev and Nataliya Zvonareva (Bykova). Igor played Bandy (Russian hockey) in the USSR championship with Dynamo Moscow, while Nataliya played hockey and was the bronze medalist at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.[1] Vera was introduced to tennis at the age of six by her mother, although no other members of her family play the game.
Career
1999–2001
Zvonareva started to compete on the ITF Circuit in 1999, debuting at an ITF tournament in Tbilisi, Georgia. She won three qualifying matches there to reach the main draw before losing in the first round. The next year, she won an ITF event in Moscow, Russia without dropping a set, despite being unranked. The event was just the second event she had played in her professional career. Five weeks later, she made her WTA-level debut at the Tier I tournament in Moscow, beating World No. 148 Elena Bovina before losing to World No. 11 Anna Kournikova in the second round. In 2001, she failed to qualify for WTA events in Key Biscayne, Florida and Moscow, but reached a semifinal at the ITF Circuit tournament in Civitanova, Italy. During this time, she also showed her adeptness in juniors' competition by winning the Orange Bowl under-18s event in 2000 and 2001.
2002
Zvonareva won her second ITF Circuit title in Naples, Florida and in July reached her first singles final on the WTA Tour at Palermo, losing to Mariana Díaz-Oliva in three sets. She also achieved semifinal finishes in Warsaw and Sopot plus a quarterfinal finish in Bol. Zvonareva won three qualifying matches at the French Open to reach the main draw for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. She lost there in the fourth round to eventual champion Serena Williams 4–6, 6–0, 6–1. Her ranking was high enough for a direct entry into Wimbledon where she lost in the second round to 23rd-seeded Iva Majoli 7–6(5), 6–2. At the US Open, Zvonareva lost to World No. 7 Kim Clijsters of Belgium in the third round 1–6, 7–5, 6–4. Her ranking rose into the top 100 after the French Open and into the top 50 after the US Open.
2003
Zvonareva won the title at the Tier III event in Bol, beating Conchita Martínez Granados in the final, and reached three other semifinals (including the Tier II event in Linz). She defeated a top 10 player for the first time when she beat World No. 10 Anastasia Myskina in Berlin. At the French Open, Zvonareva defeated World No. 3 Venus Williams in the fourth round before losing in the quarterfinals to World No. 76 Nadia Petrova. Her French Open results caused her ranking to enter the top 20. She reached the quarterfinals in six out of the seven Tier I events she contested. Her debut for the Russian Fed Cup team was in the World Group quarterfinals against Slovenia. Russia won 5–0 but lost to France 3–2 in the semifinals. In doubles, she reached her first WTA final at Moscow with Myskina. She ended the year ranked World No. 13.
2004
Zvonareva won her first career Grand Slam title, winning the mixed doubles competition at the US Open. She won one singles title, in Memphis, Tennessee, and reached the final of the events in Cincinnati, Ohio and Philadelphia, losing to top ten players Lindsay Davenport and Amélie Mauresmo respectively. In the final of the Memphis event, Zvonareva trailed hometown favorite Lisa Raymond 5–2 in the third set before saving three match points and winning the last five games of the match to win the title 4–6, 6–4, 7–5.[2] In addition to this, she reached the semifinals of three Tier I tournaments in Rome, San Diego, and Montreal. She lost in San Diego to fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina, in a match that featured a final set tiebreak that finished 17–15. Zvonareva and Myskina teamed up in the final of the Fed Cup, playing in the crucial final rubber against Marion Bartoli & Émilie Loit, which the pair won 7–6(5), 7–5 to seal Russia's first ever Fed Cup title.
Zvonareva ended the year ranked World No. 11, her best year-end ranking back then. In August, she reached her career high of World No. 9. Because of several withdrawals, Zvonareva was able to compete at the WTA Tour Championships, an event reserved for the top eight players in the world. She was unable to win a match and exited at the round robin stage.
2005
She defended her Memphis title in this year when she defeated Meghann Shaughnessy, but she was injured in the second half of 2005 (from June to December). Her ranking dropped from No. 11 to No. 42.
2006
In 2006, Zvonareva won her first regular doubles Grand Slam tournament in the US Open, partnering Nathalie Dechy of France. She obtained a second mixed doubles title at Wimbledon, in partnering Andy Ram of Israel. They defeated Americans Bob Bryan and Venus Williams 6–2, 6–3. She garnered some success in singles competition, winning two titles in a season for the first time in her career. This included her first tournament win on grass, at the DFS Classic in Birmingham, England. Her other title came in Cincinnati, where she played a nearly flawless match against Serena Williams in the semifinals, and beat Katarina Srebotnik in the final.
2007
The 2007 season produced a year of mixed fortunes for Zvonareva. At the 2007 Pacific Life Open, she stunned World No. 1 Maria Sharapova, who was the defending champion, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 in the fourth round. It was her first ever victory over a reigning World No. 1; however, she fell in the next round to Chinese player Li Na. At her next tournament, the Family Circle Cup, she was forced to retire when playing Dinara Safina and down a set, due to a left wrist injury. This injury was to keep out of the European clay court season, the grass court season and most of the North American hardcourt season. On returning to the tour, she reached the third round of the U.S. Open, losing to Serena Williams. At the remaining tournaments on her schedule, she reached the quarterfinals or better at four out of five, with semifinal finishes coming in Luxembourg and Quebec. Her one final came during the first week of the year, in Auckland, New Zealand.
2008
Zvonareva began the year by losing to wildcard Marina Erakovic, then ranked World No. 153, at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. She then reached the final of the Tier IV Moorilla Hobart International in Hobart, Australia, where she did not play the final against Eleni Daniilidou because of an ankle injury. This injury also forced her to retire in her first round match at the Australian Open against Ai Sugiyama while trailing 6–3, 1–1.
Still playing on hard courts, she then reached the final of the Tier I Qatar Total Open in Doha, beating Dinara Safina, Sybille Bammer, and Li Na along the way. In the final against World No. 5 and fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova, Zvonareva lost in three sets. In March, at the Bangalore Open, Zvonareva lost in the quarterfinals to Venus Williams. Zvonareva then reached the quarterfinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California before losing to eventual champion Ana Ivanović 6–1, 6–4. Two weeks later, Zvonareva reached the semifinals of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida where she lost to fourth-seeded Jelena Janković 6–1, 6–4.
On clay, Zvonareva then reached her third final overall and second Tier I final of the year at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. En route to the final, she defeated World No. 5 Janković and World No. 8 Elena Dementieva, the first time in her career that she defeated two top 10 players in the same tournament. In the final, she lost to fifth-seeded Serena Williams in three sets. In May, Zvonareva won her first WTA title in nearly two years. At the Tier IV ECM Prague Open, Zvonareva defeated third-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the final. This was her sixth career singles title.[3] She then lost to Venus Williams in the third round of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome and to Dementieva in the fourth round of the French Open.
On grass, Zvonareva lost her first match at the International Women's Open in Eastbourne, United Kingdom and her second round match with Tamarine Tanasugarn at Wimbledon.
During the North American summer hardcourt season, commonly known as the US Open Series, she lost in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, the second round of the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles, and the first round of the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal. At the Beijing Olympics, Zvonareva lost in the semifinals to fifth seeded Dementieva 6–3, 7–6(3) but then defeated Chinese player Li Na 6–0, 7–5 to win the bronze medal, her first medal of any kind. These results caused Zvonareva's ranking to rise to a career-high-equaling World No. 9. Two weeks later, Zvonareva was seeded eighth at the US Open but lost in the second round to Tatiana Perebiynis of Ukraine 6–3, 6–3.
In September, Zvonareva helped Russia to victory against Spain in the final of the Fed Cup. Zvonareva won the opening match of the tie in Madrid, defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–3, 6–4.[4] At the Guangzhou International Women's Open, a Tier III event, she defeated Zheng Jie in straight sets in a semifinal before beating Peng Shuai in the final. She then reached the semifinals at the China Open in Beijing, losing a three-set match to top-seeded Janković. At the Tier II Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Zvonareva lost in the quarterfinals, again to Janković, 7–6(8), 7–6(5). In her hometown event, the Kremlin Cup in Moscow the week after, Zvonareva beat second-seeded Safina in straight sets in a semifinal but lost to Janković for the third time in three weeks in the final in straight sets. In a second round match against Medina Garrigues at the Zurich Open, Zvonareva retired from the match while trailing 6–3, 3–0. However, she then reached the final of the Generali Ladies Linz in Austria, beating Marion Bartoli in the semifinals 6–0, 6–1 before losing the final to Ivanović in straight sets, hitting 32 unforced errors.
To finish off the year, Zvonareva qualified for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships (open to the top eight players) for the second time in her career. To accrue enough points to qualify, she had played six consecutive tournaments after the US Open. In her first round robin match, she won against compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–2, 6–3. Zvonareva then beat Ivanović 6–3, 6–7(5), 6–4, before completing a clean sweep of her group by defeating World No. 1 Janković 2–6, 6–3, 6–4. She reached the final by defeating Olympic gold medalist Dementieva 7–6(7), 3–6, 6–3 but lost a three-setter to Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, 6–7(5), 6–0, 6–2.
2009
Zvonareva was the seventh-seeded player at the Australian Open. She defeated tenth-seeded Nadia Petrova in the fourth round 7–5, 6–4 and sixteenth-seeded Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals 6–3, 6–0. She then lost to World No. 3 Dinara Safina in the semifinals 6–3, 7–6. This tournament, however, caused Zvonareva's ranking to rise to World No. 5, the highest of her career.
In February, she won the Pattaya Women's Open, an International Event in Thailand, where she defeated Sania Mirza in the final. She also played the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, a Premier 5 Event, where she defeated Marion Bartoli in the third round before losing to Virginie Razzano in the quarterfinals 7–6(7), 7–5.
In March, Zvonareva was the fourth seed at the first Premier Mandatory event of the year, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. She won the title, overcoming Santa Ana winds and defending champion Ana Ivanović in the final. In the doubles final, she and Victoria Azarenka beat fellow unseeded tandem Gisela Dulko and Shahar Pe'er.
At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, the second Premier Mandatory event of the year, Zvonareva beat Tathiana Garbin of Italy in the second round before being upset in the third round by Li Na of China 6–4, 3–6, 6–2. Zvonereva had beaten Li the previous week in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.
At the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, Zvonareva was the third seed and received a first round bye. She beat Rossana de los Ríos in the second round 6–3, 6–2. In the third round against Virginie Razzano, Zvonareva was forced to retire due to an ankle injury. Zvonareva torn two ligaments in her ankle, which later forced her to withdraw from Russia's Fed Cup tie with Italy. [1] The ongoing ankle injury forced her to withdraw from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome and the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open and ultimately the 2009 French Open.
Zvonareva was seeded 7th at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, and met Great Britain's Georgie Stoop in the first round. The game was close, being abandoned due to bad light at the end of the first day, at 7–6 (0), 4–6 to Zvonareva. Zvonareva went on to win, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4. Zvonareva then beat Mathilde Johansson in the second round. Zvonareva then withdrew against #26 Virginie Razzano in the third round, due to a recurrence of the ankle injury which previously caused her withdrawal from the 2009 French Open.[5]
In the 2009 Istanbul Cup she upset by Mariya Koryttseva 6–2 1–6 6–4. In her first tournament in the 2009 US Open Series she competed in the 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships were she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Flavia Pennetta 6–4 6–2. She then reached the third rounds of 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open losing to Daniela Hantuchová 7–6(6) 0–6 7–6(5) and of 2009 Rogers Cup to Maria Sharapova 6–2 7–6(3). She defeated Nuria Llagostera Vives, Anna Chakvetadze, and Elena Vesnina before missing six match points and crumbling to Flavia Pennetta 3–6, 7–6(6), 6–0 in the 2009 US Open. After the second set tiebreak she cried herself off court, for a brief timeout. Once she came back you could clearly tell she was bothered with her odd tape job, and took bits of it off as the match progressed. She then competed in the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open were she lost to compatriot Alisa Kleybanova 3–6 6–4 6–2 in the second round, after receiving a bye into the first round. She followed it up by competing in the 2009 China Open were she reached the quarterfinals losing to Marion Bartoli 3–6 7–5 6–2, despite having a double break up in the 2nd set 5–2.
Zvonareva competed in the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Russia and she was the No.1 seed. She was defeated in the second round by Tsvetana Pironkova 6–0, 6–2. Because of her loss, she did not qualify for the 2009 WTA Tour Championships in Doha, but did win a spot as an alternate. Due to the withdrawal of Dinara Safina in Doha, Zvonareva was set to play two matches there. However, she only played one match against Caroline Wozniacki, where she lost 6–0, 6(3)-7, 4–6 in a dramatic match as both players suffered injuries. She then withdrew from the tournament, citing ankle injury, and the last match was played by her co-alternate, Agnieszka Radwańska.
She finished the year ranked 9th.
2010
Seeded 9th at the Australian Open she made it to the fourth round winning her first three matches against Kristína Kučová, Iveta Benešová and Gisela Dulko. She eventually lost to Victoria Azarenka 4–6, 6–4, 6–0, after leading 6–4, 4–1. Due to this loss, Zvonareva has fallen out of the Top 10.
As the top seed and defending champion for the 2010 PTT Pattaya Open Zvonareva defeated Ksenia Pervak in the first round, Alberta Brianti in the second round, #5 seed Sybille Bammer in the quarterfinals and #4 seed Yaroslava Shvedova in the semifinals. In the final, she defeated local Tamarine Tanasugarn in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4, thereby successfully defending her title.
At the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships, Zvonareva defeated compatriot Elena Vesnina in three sets in the first round, and then following it up with a double bagel against qualifier Kirsten Flipkens. She then defeated Jelena Janković in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to Azarenka 6–1, 6–3.
Despite being the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Zvonareva lost her 4th round match against Samantha Stosur 6–2, 7–5. With this loss, she is fell out of the top 20. In the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open She lost to Justine Henin 6–1, 6–4 in the fourth round after defeating Melanie Oudin and Sara Errani in straight sets.
Her next tournament was the 2010 Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina where she was the 7th seed. She beat Oudin in straight sets 7–5, 6–2 in the quarterfinals. She advanced to her 2nd final of the year and 2nd Family Circle Cup final after top seed and World No.2 Caroline Wozniacki retired while trailing 5–2 in the semifinals due to a sprained ankle. Zvonareva was then overwhelmed in the final against Aussie Samantha Stosur, losing 6–0, 6–3.
Vera's next tounament was the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where, as the 15th, she lost surprisingly to Petra Kvitová, 6–4 6–0 in the second round. At the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open she lost to Venus Williams 7–5, 6–3 in the second round after defeating Melanie Oudin 6–3, 6–4. Zvonareva was seeded 21st at the 2010 French Open. She defeated Alberta Brianti in the first round, but was then upset by Anastasia Rodionova in the second round in straight sets.
Zvonareva's next tournament was the 2010 AEGON International in England, she lost María José Martínez Sánchez in three tight sets 6–3, 3–6, 7–5 in the opening round.
Zvonareva reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, where she was seeded 21st. She defeated Nuria Llagostera Vives, Andrea Hlavackova, 15th seed Yanina Wickmayer, 4th seed Jelena Janković, 8th seed Kim Clijsters and Tsvetana Pironkova to reach the final where she fell in straight sets to World No. 1 Serena Williams. Zvonareva rose to World No. 9 following the tournament.
Zvonareva was seeded 3rd at the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. She defeated Dominika Cibulková in three sets in the first round before falling to Coco Vandeweghe in a shock loss.
Seeded 6th at the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, Zvonareva received a bye into the second round where she faced compatriot Maria Kirilenko. In a match with several rain interruptions, Zvonareva found herself down 2-5 in the third set before another rain delay. Coming back onto court, Zvonareva rallied back to take the third set and the match 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(2). She lost to 11th seed Flavia Pennetta in the third round. At the 2010 Rogers Cup Zvonareva had a bye in the first round and beat Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round 6-2 6-1, Agnes Szavay 6-3 6-3 in the third round and Kim Clijsters 2-6 6-3 6-2 in the Quarter Finals. After two days of rain, Zvonareva returned on Monday, winning her semi-final against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who retired when trailing 6-7 0-1. She was then easily beaten by Caroline Wozniacki in the final 6-3 6-2.
Playing style
Zvonareva is a baseline counterpuncher with good offensive capabilities. She is known for her fitness and speed, owing to her excellent lateral movement, and can therefore outrun many opponents during rallies. Her groundstrokes are powerful and are usually hit very flat, with minimal topspin, though she herself admits that she can adjust her style of play to the court conditions when needed.[6] This was proven when Zvonareva won the Indian Wells in 2009 against Ana Ivanović despite the windy conditions. Her best shot is her two-handed backhand. Zvonareva's primary weakness is her mental fragility, which costs her matches when she self-destructs. Many tennis analysts, including Lindsay Davenport and Pam Shriver, have noted that Zvonareva has matured mentally and is able to keep control of her emotions for the duration of a match, evidenced by her run to the 2010 Wimbledon final.
Personal
In 2007 Vera Zvonareva graduated from the Russian State University of Physical Education with a first degree in Physical Education and is currently studying international economic relations at the diplomatic academy in Russia.
Singles performance timeline
To help interpret the performance table, the legend below explains what each abbreviation and color coded box represents in the performance timeline.
| Terms to know | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SR | the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played |
W-L | player's Win-Loss record |
| Performance Table Legend | |||
| NH | tournament not held in that calendar year | A | did not participate in the tournament |
| LQ | lost in qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (RR = round robin) |
| QF | advanced to but not past the quarterfinals | SF | advanced to but not past the semifinals |
| F | advanced to the final, tournament runner-up | W | won the tournament |
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Career SR | Career W-L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 1R | SF | 4R | 0 / 8 | 15–8 | |
| French Open | A | A | A | 4R | QF | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | 4R | A | 2R | 0 / 7 | 18–7 | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 2R | 4R | 4R | 2R | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | F | 0 / 8 | 17–8 | |
| US Open | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | 4R | A | 3R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 0 / 7 | 15–7 | ||
| Year-End Championship | |||||||||||||||
| WTA Tour Championships | A | A | A | A | A | RR | A | A | A | F | RR | 0 / 3 | 4–5 | ||
| Career Statistics | Career total | ||||||||||||||
| Tournament Runner-ups | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 13 | ||
| Tournaments Won | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| Overall Win-Loss | 3–1 | 6–2 | 12–9 | 41–14 | 46–24 | 54–27 | 21–21 | 37–22 | 30–14 | 65–22 | 33–14 | 29–13 | 377–183 | ||
| Year End Ranking | None | 357 | 365 | 45 | 13 | 11 | 42 | 24 | 23 | 7 | 9 | N/A | |||
Career statistics
External links
- Official website
- Vera Zvonareva on the Women's Tennis Association
- Vera Zvonareva at the International Tennis Federation
- Vera Zvonareva at the International Tennis Federation Junior Profile
- Vera Zvonareva at the Fed Cup
- {http://tennis-prose.com/articles/biofile-with-vera-zvonareva/ bio - file with Vera Zvonareva}
- Vera Zvonareva at the Internet Movie Database
References
- ↑ Zvonareva Biography
- ↑ Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
- ↑ Nadal makes it 4 straight wins at Barcelona Open
- ↑ "Russia cruise to Fed Cup defence". BBC Sport. 2008-09-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7615395.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ↑ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gfRPxWAzt8o7-aZJSb8Xj36M4vlg Google News 06/29/09
- ↑ http://www.zvonareva.com/Interview2.htm
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