Zvonareva - World Number 1, Grand Slam Champion, or Both?

Vera has been a consistent player on the WTA tour over the past decade. Unlike many of her Russian compatriots, Vera hasn't had the limelight shone upon her, until now that is! Tennis fans took an instant liking to the marketability of Maria Sharapova, Anna Kournikova and Elena Dementieva and the grand slam successes of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Myskina. Zvonareva found herself as the 'unknown' Russian.

After an average junior campaign where Vera's best result came in winning the prestigious Orange Bowl title, Zvonareva burst onto the WTA tour in 2002 with a string of impressive wins, most notably a fourth round appearance in the French Open losing in 3 sets to Serena Williams and a 3rd round appearance at the US Open where she lost a titanic tussle with Kim Clijsters. I knew then that at 16, Vera was a huge talent!

2003 saw the young Russian win her first title in Bol, Croatia. It was also a year she took huge leaps up the rankings, with wins throughout the year against the likes of Kuznetsova, Bartoli, and Iva Majoli. It was again at the French Open where Vera excelled reaching her first quarter-final of a grand slam, defeating Venus Williams in the process. Unfortunately for Zvonareva, her entrance into the WTA tour came at the same time as the Russian armada and although she finished the year ranked 14th in the world, she was only the fourth ranked Russian and therefore did not get the media attention she deserved.

Another consistent year was in the cards in 2004, with Vera reaching number 9 in the world with notable wins over Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova and Maria Sharapova. The list of scalps continued to grow for Vera in 2005 which looked to be even bigger for the likeable Russian. However injury struck in the latter half of the year at a pivotal point in Zvonareva's career. Her ranking slumped to 42 and at the start of 2006, Vera lost to players she would have destroyed a year earlier as she tried to get back to full fitness. Would Vera ever be able to compete at the top again? If her appearance in Cincinnati at the end of the year was anything to foreshadow, then yes was the answer! She was brilliant in handling Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic on her way to the title.

It was easy to see that if Vera hit her stride at the right time, she could dismantle most opponents and win many titles. With such tough competition from her fellow countrywomen, Zvonareva was still not making the headlines and with only one quarter final appearance in a Grand Slam to her name in her career, she lacked the killer edge of Sharapova and Kuznetsova. In any other country Vera would have been a shining superstar, in Russia she was just another Fed Cup team member and a WTA tour player.

2007 was another injury laden season and many fans were worried that Vera would never make it back to her top form. 2008 signaled a change in fortunes for the now 24 year old. She finally looked as though she could upset the odds and challenge for major honours. She reached the finals of big events in Doha and Charleston as well as earning a string of high profile victories against the likes of Safina, Jankovic and Dementieva. She was the most improved player on tour at the start of the season and moved back inside the world's top 10 players with a semi-final appearance at the Beijing Olympics and reached the WTA tour finals, losing to Venus Williams. Zvonareva was back!!!

Last years Australian Open saw the Russian make her first semi-final appearance in a Grand Slam and her best performance by far in a major in the previous 6 years. Vera went on to reach the final in the prestigious Indian Wells tournament before nagging injuries and poor form saw only glimpses of her top play. Would she ever make it to the top of her game? Was time running out for Vera to show her doubters wrong?

Nobody except true tennis fans, could have expected what 2010 had to hold for Zvonareva! It was a delight to see the Russian come out of the shadow of some of her compatriots to take the tennis world by storm. Consistency in the first half of the year was overtaken by super stardom in the later half. A girl who had never gone passed the fourth round at Wimbledon in 7 attempts found herself in the final in her 8th! She had come from nowhere to zoom through the draw to beat the likes of Clijsters and Jankovic before losing an agonizing final to Wimbledon multi-time winner Serena Williams. Vera had finally made a name for herself.

After an appearance in the final of the Canadian Open, Zvonareva reached her second successive Grand Slam final, days after her 26th birthday at the US Open. Unfortunately the result was a convincing win for a dominant Clijsters, but Vera had again proved herself as one of the best players on tour in 2010.

The year brought many tears for the Russian, but on the whole she should be proud of her results, her rise to a career best number two in the world, while reaching two Grand Slam finals. If she had been offered these results before the season had started, Vera would have bitten your hand off at the opportunity. She has a very realistic chance of snatching the elusive world number one spot from Caroline Wozniacki during the first months of the season, though both girls have a limited amount of points to defend so it could well be the top performer at the Aussie Open who takes the top spot. It would be great to see Vera on top of the ranks but a first Grand Slam win would arguably be more satisfying for her and the critics. Let's hope Vera continues where she left off 2010, at the top of her game. With the likes of Dementieva retiring, Petrova and Kuznetsova dropping down the ranks, Vera is now the hope of all Russian tennis fans. Finally she is a star of the sport in her own country.

Chris Goldsmith is a contributing writer for On The Baseline Tennis News http://www.onthebaseline.com where you can find professional women's tennis news, results, interviews, analysis, and commentary from around the globe..

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