Filed under: Tennis, French Open
A women's tournament that has thrown up more than its share of upsets continues true to form after Vera Zvonareva, ranked No. 3 and the highest surviving seed at the French Open, lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2.To add to the air of unpredictability, Pavlyuchenkova, at 19, is the youngest woman left in the tournament but won the final five games to advance to the quarter-finals.
At least Zvonareva can take some "consolation" in the fact that she lasted longer than No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki and No. 2 Kim Clijsters who exited a round earlier, in round three.
Meanwhile, fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, from Belarus, now has the dubious distinction of being the highest ranked player left in the women's singles although the form book suggests she may not last much longer!
It is the first time in the Open era - which began in 1968 - that none of the top three women's seeds have advanced to the quarter-finals of a French Open.
And, while the pursists may regret the absence of some big-name stars deep in the tournament, at least the women's event can claim to be far more unpredictable, and open, than the men's version.
Unlike their female counterparts, the men's competition at Roland Garros has been far less dramatic, thus far at least.
Roger Federer continued his impressive start to the singles with a 6-3 6-2 7-5 victory over Stanislas Wawrinka which means the number three seed has not lost a set en route to the last eight.
In the Swiss "derby" Wawrinka led his countryman 3-0 in the third set after a sloppy service game by Federer but the favourite recovered impressively to deal comfortably with the No. 14 seed, who had defeated France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets in the previous round.
REACTION:
Pavlyuchenkova admitted that belief was a key factor in her upset victory:
"I think maybe in the past, or last year, I wouldn't have believed I can win this match against that top player.
"I remember last year against Serena Williams (in the third round), it was the third set and she broke me once, and then I didn't really believe that I could come back. It was 6-1 in the third for her. This time I think that was the main key."
Zvonareva insisted her defeat was not due to mental fragility:
"There is no mental problem. I think every time I was taking the risk, I wasn't so consistent. That's why I was playing a little bit too passive. It's not acceptable at this stage of the Grand Slam."
On Pavlyuchenkova:
"She's been very consistent, and she's definitely young and she's got great potential. I'm sure we will see her a lot in the future."
Federer paid tribute to Wawrinka although the contest was never in as much doubt as he suggested:
"He showed all his qualities in the third set and was a bit unlucky.
"I am super-happy because I knew after he beat Tsonga, when he really dominated in the last two sets, what the danger was."
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/05/29/french-open-vera-zvonareva-the-latest-leading-woman-to-exit-in/
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