MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—Russia’s Vera Zvonareva wore a black ribbon pinned to her tennis visor during her Australian Open quarterfinal Wednesday to express condolences over the deadly suicide bombing at Moscow’s busiest airport.
The 26-year-old Muscovite watched the news on TV and telephoned family at home to make sure everyone was safe after Monday’s attack, which left 35 people dead. Then she directed her focus toward her tennis, keeping the attacks close to her mind.
“I put this black ribbon on my visor to express my support,” she said. “It was terrible news for me.”
“I know I am far away, but I am with them,” Zvonareva told a television interviewer.
The No. 2 seed is trying to win her first Grand Slam title after losing back-to-back finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Zvonareva beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 7-6 (4) in Wednesday’s match, which was punctuated by the explosion of canons and air force planes flying overhead to mark Australia’s national day.
One of the Russian’s techniques for keeping her focus is to drape a towel over her head when sitting in her chair at game changeovers.
“I’m just trying to relax my eyes,” she said. “When you play at this intensity, the ball is traveling very fast and you need to keep your concentration. It is just something that helps me.”
Zvonareva faces U.S. Open champion and third-seeded Kim Clijsters in the semifinals. The Belgian beat Zvonareva in last year’s U.S. Open final but lost to her in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Clijsters has won six out of their nine meetings.