Zvonareva into Wimbledon second round
Date published :
20 Jun 2011 - 15:30:03
Last year's beaten finalist Vera Zvonareva made a winning return to Wimbledon as the Russian second seed defeated America's Alison Riske 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round on Monday.
Zvonareva's last match at the All England Club 12 months ago ended painfully as she lost in straight sets against Serena Williams in her first Grand Slam final appearance.
The 26-year-old, who was also beaten by Kim Clijsters in last year's US Open final, was pushed hard by world number 118 Riske on her return to the All England Club, but eventually prevailed to set up a second round match against compatriot Elena Vesnina.
"She played some good tennis but I tried to stay focused. I had some ups and downs but I'm really happy I was able to pull it off in the end," Zvonareva said.
"I lost my concentration for a bit but I always fight for every point and I was able to pick it up in the third set."
Zvonareva completely dominated the first set on Court One and won it without losing a game.
But Riske hit back impressively and the 20-year-old broke Zvonareva for a 4-2 lead before serving out the second set.
Zvonareva had lost her rhythm and composure at that point and even when the Russian broke to move 2-0 ahead in the final set she couldn't close out the match as Riske broke back in the next game.
She finally regained control in time to break for a 5-3 lead before holding serve to seal the win.
