Split Decision: Vera Zvonareva Upsets Kim Clijsters

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By Adrianna Outlaw
© Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

(June 29, 2010) Sliding splits were once a signature shot for Kim Clijsters. Today, Vera Zvonareva flipped the script in scoring a split decision.

Competing with the flexibility of a contortionist and the focus of a woman who spends her down time on changeovers with a towel draped over her head to tune out the world, Zvonareva scored her first career win over Clijsters, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time.

Reigning US Open champion Clijsters had beaten Zvonareva in all five of their prior meetings, including two grass-court encounters, but Zvonareva beat Clijsters to the ball and often fired her flat strokes to keep the former World No. 1 pinned behind the baseline.

"I think I was able to play one point at a time today. I was able to keep my concentration from the beginning till the end of the match," Zvonareva said. "Also I'm much more experienced right now, much more mature. I think I played tactically better, and I was able to hang in there, not to pay attention to what was going on around. Even after I lost the first set, maybe there were a couple unforced errors that could have put me back, but I was trying not to think about it. I was trying to think about what I have to do next to win the next point. I think it helped me a lot."



Tennis' top working mom conceded she could not read Zvonareva's zipping two-handed backhand and could not consistently take the first strike in rallies.

"I think she was good at keeping me under pressure. She hits the ball very hard, flat and deep. It was up to me to try to go for the lines, open up the court a little bit more, especially to her forehand. I was trying to pull her out of the court a little bit," Clijsters said. "But, yeah, she was really on top of my game I felt today. I mean, her backhand is her stronger shot. I mean, it's very hard to read the shot. Especially when she goes down the line, it's like a last‑second. You can't even read it."

No. 21 seeded Zvonareva was not interested in reading the Centre Court scoreboard when it flashed World No. 82 Tsvetana Pironkova's shocking 6-2, 6-3 conquest of the five-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams.

"I put the towel because it just helps me to relax and not to see what is going on around. Because in my game, I think I'm capable to do a lot of different things. For me, it's very important that my head is relaxed because then I know what I want to do in the next point," Zvonareva said. "And if you see all the things around, noticing all the scores, it just takes your concentration a little bit away, and then maybe you will make a wrong decision on the court."

Zvonareva knows the scoreline of her lone meeting with semifinal opponent Pironkova  — the 5-foot-11 Bulgarian used her variety to blunt the Moscow native, 6-0, 6-2 in the Kremlin Cup round of 16 last fall.

"She's all‑over‑the‑court player. You know, it's hard to predict what she's doing on the court," Zvonareva said of Pironkova. "Sometimes she can slice; sometimes she can hit the ball; sometimes she can play slow; sometimes she can play fast. You never know what to expect, so you lose your rhythm. Then you start thinking maybe too much on the court. I just know that in that match I will have to concentrate on myself and execute my game no matter what the score, no matter what she's trying to do. Just try not to look on the other side and try to concentrate on myself."