The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s Year-End Championship kicks off this week in Doha, Qatar, where the top players in the world will compete for the last major title of 2008 and a $3.1 million purse.
Half of the elite eight-woman field is Russian. The least heralded of the powerhouse group, which includes Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, is Vera Zvonareva -- the last player to qualify for the season-ending championship but one of the first to arrive. Her return to the Khalifa International Tennis Complex rekindles warm memories of her strong showing at the Tier I Doha event this February, when she reached the final (and then lost to countrywoman Maria Sharapova in three sets).
Zvonareva’s appearance in Doha is the culmination of a strong year that started in Hobart, Australia, where she reached the first of what would be seven final appearances in 2008. After injury thwarted her Australian Open campaign, Zvonareva bounced back with a run to the final in Doha.
She backed up the result with a stellar spring, including a six-week stretch in March and April during which she reached the quarterfinals or better at three consecutive Tier I events (Indian Wells, Miami, and Charleston) and lost to Serena Williams in the final at the latter.
Zvonareva went on to win titles in Prague and Guangzhou and was part of the Russian medal sweep in women’s singles at the Beijing Games, where she bagged the bronze medal. Zvonareva also represented her country successfully in Fed Cup play, winning both of her singles matches this year in helping the red, white and blue to the Cup title.
The resurgent Zvonareva, 24, who had finished 2007 with a world ranking of No. 22, ascended to No. 8 this year, her career high since she turned pro in 2000.
Zvonareva attributes her improvement to maturity and experience, plus the hard work she has put in with her coach, Samuel Sumyk.
“I think if I look back at my year, I would say it was a successful year overall, even though I had some ups and downs,” she told TENNIS.com.
“But I think I’m a much more experienced and mature player now, so that helps a lot. And, of course, my coach and me, we did hard work and he taught me a lot. We wanted to improve everything, my game overall, and I hope we are doing a good job.”
Despite being just shy of 5-foot-8, the speedy and mobile Zvonareva plays a power game from the baseline. Her top liability in the past has been not a lack of height but of composure. At times she has struggled to keep her emotions in check on the court, crying during matches, throwing racquets, and sending balls sailing over stadium bleachers.
But Zvonareva says she’s no longer prone to erratic behavior.
“I feel pretty good out there on the court, but, like I said I’m more experienced and mature,” she said. “I have learned a lot from being on the Tour for all those years.”
Financial reward and recognition have accompanied Zvonareva’s on-court success. She made a quarter of her career prize money earnings, now topping $4.2 million, this year alone, and was featured in a photo spread in the October edition of Russian Hello! magazine. But perhaps the most gratifying product of her recent resurgence was qualifying for the year-end championship for the first time since 2004.
“I’m very excited about the Sony Ericsson Championship. It feels great to be a part of the top eight players at the end of the season,” she said. “I have played it before in Los Angeles, in singles and doubles, so I have some experience from there and hopefully it can help me to do my best in Doha.”
Zvonareva, who failed to win a single match at the 2004 year-end championship, hopes to fare better this year against world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, the other players drawn into her group. Round-robin play begins on Tuesday.