by Vassily
 

Following an early exit from the US Open (Vera lost to Shaughnessy in the 3rd round) Zvonareva took a little vocation and did not play in any tournament for three weeks. This was a wise move because this season would be very long for her, with the Federation Cup semifinal and possibly finals. After more than sufficient rest Vera began to practice for the Kremlin Cup, where she is the no.7 seed.

Despite the long rest this week promises to be very hard for Zvonareva, as players like Capriati, Mauresmo and recent tournament winners Dementieva and Myskina would be battling for the trophy with Vera.

Things promise to be edgy right from the start when Vera will face Amanda Coetzer of South Africa in the first round. In their last encounter (which was also their only encounter till date) in Amelia Island Zvonareva was defeated in three sets. And there is no reason to believe that this match would be any easier, because Amanda reached two 3^rd rounds and a quarterfinal in her last 3 events. Nevertheless, the chances of Vera’s advance to the second round with a straight set win are pretty high.

Advancing to the second round Zvonareva would most likely face Lisa Raymond. The pair never played before but Vera would be a clear favorite to win the match, even because of Vera’s superior ranking, if you need a reason. Unlike Coetzer, Raymond is not very famous for upsets.

No matter how hard the earlier matches would be, Vera would face her first real challenge in the quarterfinal where she is most likely to meet Amelie Mauresmo for the first time in her career. Mauresmo is the second seed in the tournament and has done very well this season, so if Zvonareva is to progress any further in her hometown she is expected to play her very best tennis.

If at all Vera will get as far as the semifinal her opponent would be expected to be her countrywoman Elena Dementieva. Elena played some outstanding tennis the last few weeks, winning two tournaments in a row in Asia. A win over Elena would be an immense achievement, but quite unlikely for Zvonareva, at least now.

But hopes are always high for such a player as Vera Zvonareva, so lets just wait and see!