The current season for Vera Zvonareva started very badly. The most experienced Russian tennis player again and again ended the fight at the WTA tournaments in the first rounds. In addition, the affairs of the Olympic medalist in Beijing did not go well not only alone, which many attributed to age, but also in the “favorite” couple, in which she won three Grand Slam tournaments, and the last one was relatively recent. in 2020.
Critics immediately rushed to send Zvonareva to a well-deserved rest, sincerely perplexed: why is she continuing her career? But Vera’s performance at the current US Open answers all the questions of skeptics. To begin with, the Russian tennis player surprised everyone in singles, confidently passing three qualifying rounds. And then she, along with the duo’s usual friend of hers, the German Laura Siegemund, began her journey through the doubles tournament, apparently determined to celebrate her birthday in New York and not as a tourist.
Zvonareva and Siegemund were seeded at this year’s US Open only 12th. But the favorites, round after round, completed their tournament performance, and the Russian-German duo was still up for grabs. On September 7, Vera Zvonareva turned 39 years old. And the next day she took to the court to compete for a spot in the fourth final of the US Open, building on her brilliant singles performance in 2010.
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The match against American Jennifer Brady and Brazilian Louise Stefani started surprisingly well for Zvonareva and Siegemund. At the start of the first game, the rivals could not find an antidote to the actions of the Russian tennis player at the net. Vera and Laura made two breaks, led 4-0 and should have carried the set to victory with confidence, especially since in the fifth game they hit break points again.
Brady and Stephanie persevered and managed to return one of the tickets. And this meant that the game still had to be fought for. The rivals of the Russian-German duo could have completely returned the match situation to their original positions – in the tenth game they had two chances to restore parity. But at the key moments Zvonareva and Siegemund played impeccably and still put the set behind 6:4.
The first step towards victory was taken: it remained to carry out the work begun to the end. Zvonareva and Siegemund, inspired by their success, started the second game as if it were the main series of their lives. Again two quick counterattacks and the rivals were in an almost hopeless situation. Vera and Laura had two games to win in order to play the US Open final together for the second time in their careers. In her half, Zvonareva was almost flawless, which meant that, in the worst case, the Russian-German pair would have two chances to serve for the match.
But in the end it all ended much faster. 6: 4, 6: 1-and Vera Zvonareva, seventeen years after her first success on the courts of New York, will play the final of the US Open again. And she will try to repeat the success of three years ago, which she also achieved together with Siegemund. She only has to take one step: defeat the New Zealand-Canadian duo Erin Rutliff-Gabriela Dabrowski in the decisive match.
