Spending changeovers with a white towel draped over her head like a sunburned surfer seeking shelter from the elements, Vera Zvonareva likes to limit face time between points. But the third-seeded Russian, who even applies sunscreen while her towel shields her face like a veil, needed no such protection when staring down a set point today against Agnieszka Radwanska. She ripped an ace to save it, then used a sustained dose of forward thinking to repel Radwanska, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the Sony Ericsson Open semis for the second time in the past four years.
Last year’s U.S. Open runner-up could face Kim Clijsters in a rematch of their Flushing Meadows final if the No. 2 seed, who saved five match points in fighting back from a 1-5 third-set deficit against Ana Ivanovic yesterday, beats 2009 Key Biscayne champ Victoria Azarenka in today’s 7 p.m. quarterfinal.
While Zvonareva lacks a major weapon, she can hit every shot from virtually anywhere on the court. Her versatility was valuable as the 2010 Wimbledon singles and doubles runner-up astutely attacked the front court on pivotal points, winning 17 of her 20 trips to the net.
“It was a very important moment down set point in the first set,” Zvonareva told ESPN2. “It could be a different story if I had lost the first set. I felt like I was able to raise my game at the end of each set. I had to take my chances. I had to come in and I’m really happy with the way I came to net.”
The ace that saved the set point sparked a run in which Zvonareva won 11 of the next 14 points to take the first set, after breaking Radwanska at love for a 6-5 advantage.
A smooth ball striker with shrewd court sense, Radwanska’s skills are more subtle than most. She has exquisite feel for the ball and showed some slick stick skills in sprinting back to the baseline, tossing up a blind lob over the shoulder and firing a running forehand pass down the line to hold in the first game of the second set.
Ultimately, Zvonareva was the more proactive player who was willing to push the issue when it mattered most. She is adept at creating angles off her backhand on balls hit directly down the middle, and did just that to draw a forehand error and break for 3-2. She stretched her lead to 5-2 before Radwanska slid a forehand pass beneath the Russian’s racquet to break back for 3-5.
It was a brief reprieve. On her second match point, Zvonareva blasted a backhand pass down the line to seal the one hour, 34-minute match.
Though she’s never reached the Key Biscayne final, Zvonareva has enjoyed past success at Crandon Park: she won the prestigious Orange Bowl junior title as a teenager, and if she can take the title on Saturday, will surpass Clijsters for the world No. 2 rank.
—Richard Pagliaro