add site
services
publishers
database
health videos
toolbar
stats
live show
health store
more stuff
JOIN/LOGIN
| advertise add site services publishers database health videos
| | about toolbar stats live show health store more stuff JOIN/LOGIN |
Aloe Vera Soap, Aloe Vera Soap Manufacturer, Aloe Vera Soap Supplier,... themedica.com | Aloe Vera Capsules | Herbal Aloevera Medicine | Nature's Herbs Aloe... herbal-clinic.com |
Vera Igorevna Zvonarёva (Russian: Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, pronounced [ˈvʲɛra zvɔnarˈjɔva] ( Zvonareva has won eight WTA Tour singles titles, four WTA Tour doubles titles and two ITF Women's Circuit singles titles. In her first few years on the professional tour, she became known for her fragile psyche, often breaking down in tears during matches.[1] Critics cited her unstable emotions as a reason why her results may have fallen short of her expectations.[citation needed] Her first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal came at the 2003 French Open after defeating Venus Williams in the fourth round. Of her nine singles titles, two have been at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee. Zvonareva is a Grand Slam doubles champion, having won at the US Open in 2006 with Nathalie Dechy. She is also an Olympic medalist, having won a bronze in singles for Russia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2004, she and partner Anastasia Myskina won the decisive final rubber match in the team's Fed Cup victory. In 2008, she won the opening rubber of the Fed Cup final against Spain, helping Russia to its third win in four years.
[edit] Early lifeZvonareva was born September 7, 1984 in Moscow, Russia to Igor Zvonarev and Natalia Zvonareva. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six by her mother, although no other members of her family play the game. [edit] Career[edit] 1999–2001Zvonareva 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. [edit] 2002Zvonareva 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. [edit] 2003Zvonareva 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. [edit] 2004Zvonareva 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. 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. [edit] 2005She could defend her championship in this year of Memphis when she defeated a host Meghann Shaughnessy, but she started to injury in second half of this year (from June to December). Her ranking was descended from No.11 to No.42. [edit] 2006In 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. [edit] 2007The 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. [edit] 2008Zvonareva 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. [edit] 2009Zvonareva 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 Rios 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 Madrilena Madrid Open and ultimately the 2009 French Open. Zvonareva is 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, with one set a piece 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 Hantuchova 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 Radwanska. She finished the year ranked 9th. [edit] Playing StyleZvonareva 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 Ivanovic despite the windy conditions. Her best shot is her two-handed backhand, which tennis analyst Patrick McEnroe stated is one of the best in the women's game. Zvonareva's primary weakness is her mental fragility, which costs her matches when she self-destructs. Recently, an ankle injury has prevented her from "pushing" her weight forward while serving, resulting in a large number of double faults. [edit] Major finals[edit] Grand Slam finals[edit] Doubles: 1 (1-0)
[edit] Mixed doubles: 2 (2-0)
[edit] WTA Tour Championships finals[edit] Singles: 1 (0-1)
[edit] Premier Mandatory finals[edit] Singles: 4 (1-3)
[edit] Doubles: 1 (1-0)
[edit] Titles[edit] Singles wins (9 WTA)
[edit] Doubles wins (5 WTA)
[edit] WTA Tour runner-ups (16)[edit] Singles (11)
Categories: 1984 births | Living people | 21st-century female tennis players | 21st-century Russian people | Olympic bronze medalists for Russia | Olympic tennis players of Russia | People from Moscow | Russian female tennis players | Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics | United States Open champions (tennis) | Wimbledon champions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↑ top of page ↑ | about thumbshots |
