By Sean Bradley
© Mark Peterson/Corleve
Vera Zvonareva
, the 2nd-ranked female in the world, easily took down Petra Kvitova in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. Zvonareva faltered little in her road to the championships of the Australian Open, losing only 6 games to the young, 28th-ranked Czech. Zvonareva took the first quite simply and powerfully and just as Kvitova was beginning to gain her momentum to take it to a third set, Zvonareva finished her off, securing her seat in the semi-finals of the tournament.