Matches:

1 Rd.: Zvonareva lost to Rubin 6-1 4-6 3-6

 

Now this was quite unpleasant for Vera, especially after such a great play in the first and even the second sets of her first encounter with the American veteran Chanda Rubin. The fact that Vera stopped playing well after leading 6-1 4-2 is quite disturbing and one thing is certain: such things should never happen again.

Chanda Rubin did not play well in the first set, but that was not the actual reason of why Vera was winning at those moments. It was Zvonareva’s aggressive play, with hitting the ball with power and precision, forcing the opponent to run around the court and make errors, which brought her ahead. But when suddenly Rubin pulled her game together, when Vera was already close to a victory, everything changed radically. This was the point where Vera lost her confidence and hence the match, although an attempt by the loosing player to level the score in the end of the match was always expected. Rubin was making much less mistakes after she broke the score for the first time, while Vera, being smashed psychologically, was doing much the opposite. In my opinion, this sudden wave of fine play from Rubin was the caused the defeat. The third set saw Zvonareva’s attempt to come back into the match, but it is needless to say that it was unsuccessful. The result: - a three set defeat by a player ranked only two spots ahead in the rankings.

In Filderstadt Vera was a part of a classic situation in tennis: a sudden good play pf the opponent threw her off-track. Sadly we saw just another proof that Vera is not yet ready to be in the elite of top-10, and unfortunately her talent cannot help here. All technical aspects of Zvonareva’s game are in a fine state, especially her backhand return. Yes Vera has a fluctuating second serve, and a dominantly one-dimensional game at the baseline, but her two compatriots Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva are both in the top ten with all the same problems. “So what is the problem?” you would ask.  Well this is where the psychological aspect of tennis kicks in. All the leading tennis players know how to pull themselves together when loosing, must know how to keep their excitement down to stay focused ones winning. But, Vera does not posses all these important yet. She is still young and does not know how to handle intense situations on important points, easily succumbs to pressure, hence is unable to finish-off those final points which are crucial for the victory. Luckily, Vera already, at her age of 19, has a record of huge wins, which indicates that she is far on the right track. Who knows…maybe it would be as soon as next season that she will ascend to the top?

 

Predictions for Swisscom Challenge Zurich:

Zvonareva should be able to defeat Shaughnessy in the first round in two hard sets, and then Conchita Martinez (in the second round) in three. In the quarterfinals Vera would most likely face Justine Henin-Hardenne, who be the favourite to win.