Vera Zvonareva is the least-known and possibly the least-appreciated Russian to have reached the Top 2.
Perhaps it’s because the others either own a Grand Slam title (Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova) or claim Marat Safin for a sibling (you know who). Or maybe it owes to the non-Russian ranked above her, Caroline Wozniacki, getting so much attention at the top. But we shouldn't sleep on Zvonareva—she reminded us why with her 6-0, 6-1 beatdown of Wozniacki in a Hong Kong exhibition this month and her consecutive appearances in Grand Slam finals. Few are picking her to win this tournament, but maybe that’s how she likes it and when she can do the most damage.
Whatever the case, most picked Zvonareva to win her first match Tuesday against Sybille Bammer. She came into tonight with a 4-0 head-to-head advantage, even though they were mostly close matches. Bammer is no slouch; she's the only active player to own a winning record against Serena Williams (among those who’ve played her at least twice).
Zvonareva didn't play her best tennis today, but it was more than enough to get the job done. In just under an hour, she won 6-2, 6-1, hitting 11 winners, 17 unforced errors and five double-faults. Two of them, it should be said, came while serving for a set; she would go on to lose the game. She made up for it with a prompt break of serve in the following game, winning the set with a Zvonarevaesque backhand pass—effective and pretty, but in an understated way. Surprisingly, the Wimbledon doubles finalist approached the net just four times. She’ll likely want to do more of that in the later rounds.
On a non-tennis note, it’s interesting that Zvonareva wore the same kit she wore more than a few times last year. You’d think K-Swiss would want the No. 2 player in the world to show up at Slam No. 1 in something fresh. Then again, considering some of the kits others are sporting, maybe this is for the best.
Zvonareva said a few months ago that if she gets the chance to be in another Grand Slam final, one thing she’d like to learn from Serena Williams is how to “put everything out of my head and to play it like it’s my first match.” It wouldn’t be surprising to see her reach another major final, but to get to one here, she’ll have to play the next five matches better than this first match.
Next up for her is the new Serb in town, Bojana Jovanovski.
—Bobby Chintapalli