Top Seeds Zvonareva, Schiavone, and Kuznetsova Have Three-Set Struggles On Day 1
Wimbledon quarterfinalist Schiavone won 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 against the 2000 semifinalist Jelena Dokic.
Dokic was playing well on the grass with effective drop shots and hit 32 winners. She was throwing her all into the match hitting more winners and unforced errors than the French Open champion, who shot 20 winners and 18 errors.
Schiavone was able to come back from the second set after a rain delay. She took well to the roof at Centre Court and found strength with her first serve, winning 70 percent of first service points.
Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva struggled in her first round against American Alison Riske but won 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.
She started strong winning at love in the first set which was only 25 minutes however Riske was playing an aggressive game hitting as many winners as errors and never lost her cool.
Zvonareva is known for her emotion and she displayed it in throwing a towel over her head between sets, which is often a sign that the Russian is going to lose it. In the third set, Riske got breaks at the beginning but Zvonareva served strong and won with an ace of six total aces in the match.
Zvonareva beat her Wimbledon nemesis, Serena Williams, last week but her performance today seemed to characterize her up and down play.
Kuznetsova also had a rough first match against Shuai Zhang in which went to three set 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. She struggled with her return game.
The top seeds performances show how wide open the field is for the ladies.
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