Serena to face Zvonareva for Wimbledon crown
Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England
After Serena Williams moved within a victory of her fourth Wimbledon championship and 13th Grand Slam title overall, she was asked to assess the woman she’ll face in Saturday’s final, little-known Vera Zvonareva of Russia.
“I don’t think she does anything terrible. I think that’s the best way to describe her game,” Williams said. “She does everything good.”
That’s a fair, if not necessarily charitable, scouting report. Minutes later came a follow-up: Is there anything Williams herself does “terrible” in tennis or in life?
She hemmed and hawed, then replied, “I don’t know. That’s a good question. I’m stumped.”
It’s difficult to find any flaws in Williams’ play right now. The No. 1-ranked American has won all 12 sets she’s played this fortnight, set a Wimbledon record with 80 aces in the tournament, and reached a third consecutive final at the All England Club by beating Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Thursday.
“Well,” the defending champion said, “I’m hoping to still peak in the final.”
That must be a daunting prospect for the 21st-ranked Zvonareva, who eliminated Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Thursday’s other semifinal.
Zvonareva is the second-lowest-ranked woman to reach a Wimbledon final, had never gotten past the fourth round here, and will be playing in a title match for the first time in 30 Grand Slam tournaments.
“I always believe in myself. I don’t care about what everyone says,” said Zvonareva, who drapes a pink, yellow and blue Wimbledon towel over her head during changeovers to block distractions. “I know if I play my best tennis, I can beat anyone. ... I never look at any odds or comparisons.”
So she might not know that Williams is 12-3 in major finals.
Or care that Williams has won five of their previous six meetings.
“On paper, it looks like I should win,” said Williams. “But Vera, she’s beaten some good people. Her last two matches, she’s been down a set, so she’s obviously a fighter.”
Pironkova’s match against Zvonareva began with dozens of empty green seats in the stands, perhaps because of the lunchtime start — or the low-wattage names on the marquee.
Still, the tennis was entertaining, with both women pounding shots. There was an odd delay in the second game, when Zvonareva’s backhand landed in the net, and she immediately grabbed the ball and squeezed, showing it was flat. She handed the ball to chair umpire Eva Asderaki, who announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, the ball is broken, and according to the rules, we will replay the point.”
Pironkova never made it past the second round in 18 previous Grand Slam appearances, and she hasn’t been a finalist at any tour event. But she didn’t show nerves early on, breaking Zvonareva’s serve to lead 4-2.
Throughout the first set, Pironkova successfully employed the same formula she used to upset Venus Williams and 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli: mixing speeds and limiting her mistakes.
When Zvonareva netted a backhand to end that set, she began gesturing and muttering. She’s been known as one of tennis’ most temperamental players, prone to sobbing on court when things don’t go according to plan. Now 25, she insists she’s more mature, and it showed Thursday, when she stayed calm enough to make adjustments, hitting deeper into the court and charging forward more and more.
It took 59 minutes for Zvonareva to earn a break point, which she did in the second set’s sixth game by returning a 117 mph serve, then watching Pironkova put a backhand into the net. Zvonareva’s groundstroke winner made it 4-2.
Zvonareva took 10 of the last 13 games. After producing eight winners in the first set, she totaled 23 the rest of the match.