Wimbledon 2009: Vera Zvonareva
Seeded: 7
Odds to win title: 33/1
Date of Birth: 7th September 1984
Country: Russia
Highest Ranking: 6 (2008)
After turning seven years of age, Vera Zvonareva was introduced to tennis by her mother in an attempt to nurture an interest in sports. When she was older and had turned professional, she was prone to emotional outbursts on the court and would often break down in tears in the middle of matches.
Many suggested that it was the pressure of competing and, in those first few years of competition, the stress might have affected her game and held her back from her real potential.
In 1999, Zvonareva starting competing on the ITF Circuit and at one of her first tournaments in Tbilisi, Georgia, she reached the main draw but lost in the first round. After gaining some confidence, she won the ITF event in Moscow, before going on to her first WTA Tier I Tournament in Moscow, where she beat Elena Bovina but lost to Anna Kournikova in the second round. Zvonareva failed to qualify at the WTA events in Florida and Moscow, but she managed to reach the semi-finals at the ITF Circuit Tournament in Italy.
During 2002, Zvonareva’s career improved when she won the second ITF Circuit title in Naples, and with renewed vigour, she later reached her first singles final at the WTA tour at Palermo, but lost to Mariana Diaz-Oliva. After those wins, she participated in the semi-finals in Warsaw, Sopot and Bol.
Then she went on to win three qualifying matches at the French Open, and for the first time competed at a Grand Slam tournament. After the French Open, her ranking rose into the top 100 players. In 2003, she won at the Tier III event in Bol, defeating Anastasia Myskina, a top 10 player, for the first time. However, in 2005, due to extensive injuries she did not play any matches for six months. During this period her ranking dropped from 11 to 42.
Zvonareva seemed to come back well refreshed in 2005, and went on to win her first doubles game at a Grand Slam in the US Open, and her success continued, winning a second mixed doubles at Wimbledon with partner Andy Ram. While competing on grass courts in the DFS Classic in Birmingham and Cincinnati, she won two singles titles.
To the general surprise of the public during the 2007 Pacific Life Open, Zvonareva defeated world number 1 Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, but unfortunately lost to Chinese player Li Na. Zvonareva had further misfortune when she had to retire from her next tournament, the Family Circle Cup, due to a wrist injury.
This same injury forced her out of the European clay court, grass court, and most of the North American hard court seasons. In 2008, luck was against her again, when after reaching the Moorilla Hobart International and the Australian Open, she had to retire due to an ankle injury.
Click here to see our odds for the women’s singles
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