Zvonareva was impressive on various fronts, for coming from 3-1 down in both sets, for playing well when it most mattered, and for displaying great appetite near the end of a season in which she has played 66 matches so far. Asked how she produced such an effective performance not long after giving such a tearful tribute to the retiring Elena Dementieva, she said, “I was very emotional and I needed a few minutes and a warm-up and then I was into the match.”
Clijsters, who had been playing until past midnight the previous day as she struggled past Victoria Azarenka, admitted she had felt the effects. “You know, obviously last night’s match was pretty tough and I kind of just felt it today,” said the US Open champion. For Clijsters, who had already qualified, this defeat means she will now face the world number five from Australia Samantha Stosur, in the last-four.
Meanwhile, Francesca Schiavone, the French Open champion from Italy, looked delighted to finish the 2010 WTA Tour - the most successful of her career - with a win. Schiavone beat Dementieva, the Olympic champion from Russia, by 6-4, 6-2, hopping with joy at a victory which guarantees her highest year-end finish of world number seven.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2010.
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