MELBOURNE, Australia - World No.2 Vera Zvonareva held off a late charge from Petra Kvitova on Wednesday afternoon, moving into her third straight Grand Slam semifinal with a 62 64 victory on Rod Laver Arena.
Kvitova, who had won the lead-up tournament in Brisbane and was the No.25 seed here, had her moments in the match, going on two of her trademark streaks - two games in a row to go from 0-4 to 2-4 in the first set, then four games in a row to go from 0-3 to 4-3 in the second set. But Zvonareva was able to close it out every time to move through in an hour and 15 minutes.
"At 62 30 I was trying to keep playing the same way I was playing, but she really lifted her game," Zvonareva said. "She's a very good player. She took that opportunity, that little chance I gave her, and used it to get back into the match. I'm happy with the way I handled the situation during those moments though."
Kvitova's backhand was perhaps the biggest factor in her struggles: 17 of her 28 errors came off that wing (seven forehand misses, four double faults).
Zvonareva moved into her third straight and fourth overall Grand Slam semifinal, having also been to the final four here two years ago and back-to-back finals at the last two majors at Wimbledon and the US Open (a runner-up at both).
This week's bombing at Domodedovo Airport in her hometown of Moscow was on Zvonareva's mind - literally. "If you saw, I wore a black ribbon on my visor today. It is my condolences and support to everyone suffering back home," the Muscovite said. "Definitely the news was quite shocking. It was difficult. You're calling back home and making sure everyone is okay, people you know."
Kvitova had upset higher seeds Sam Stosur and Flavia Pennetta to reach her second Grand Slam quarterfinal. Her first came at Wimbledon last year, where she made it to the semifinals before falling to Serena Williams.
"I don't think I was nervous, just a little tired," Kvitova said. "Vera played well. I just want to work hard and play my game. I want to improve everything."
World No.3 Kim Clijsters followed Zvonareva into the semis with a 63 76(4) win over No.12 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second match on Laver Arena.
"I felt a little bit tired and heavy out there today, but I fought well and stayed really focused, and tried not to lose too much energy on getting frustrated and things like that," Clijsters said. "Everything has to be better. The serving, the returning, the unforced errors... everything. But I'm in the semifinals and I don't feel I've played my best tennis, so that's a good thing. I'm hanging in there. Sometimes it's more of an achievement than winning your matches very easily."
Radwanska was playing her first tournament in three months and had survived a number of early round scares, including rallying from 4-1 down in the third to beat Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round and fighting off two match points to get past China's Peng Shuai in the fourth round two days ago.
"The second set was very, very close. A couple more points and for sure it could have been a third set," Radwanska said. "Every time I play the top players it's close. But this year, the quarterfinals is a good result after my injury last year."
"At 62 30 I was trying to keep playing the same way I was playing, but she really lifted her game," Zvonareva said. "She's a very good player. She took that opportunity, that little chance I gave her, and used it to get back into the match. I'm happy with the way I handled the situation during those moments though."
Kvitova's backhand was perhaps the biggest factor in her struggles: 17 of her 28 errors came off that wing (seven forehand misses, four double faults).
Zvonareva moved into her third straight and fourth overall Grand Slam semifinal, having also been to the final four here two years ago and back-to-back finals at the last two majors at Wimbledon and the US Open (a runner-up at both).
This week's bombing at Domodedovo Airport in her hometown of Moscow was on Zvonareva's mind - literally. "If you saw, I wore a black ribbon on my visor today. It is my condolences and support to everyone suffering back home," the Muscovite said. "Definitely the news was quite shocking. It was difficult. You're calling back home and making sure everyone is okay, people you know."
Kvitova had upset higher seeds Sam Stosur and Flavia Pennetta to reach her second Grand Slam quarterfinal. Her first came at Wimbledon last year, where she made it to the semifinals before falling to Serena Williams.
"I don't think I was nervous, just a little tired," Kvitova said. "Vera played well. I just want to work hard and play my game. I want to improve everything."
World No.3 Kim Clijsters followed Zvonareva into the semis with a 63 76(4) win over No.12 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second match on Laver Arena.
"I felt a little bit tired and heavy out there today, but I fought well and stayed really focused, and tried not to lose too much energy on getting frustrated and things like that," Clijsters said. "Everything has to be better. The serving, the returning, the unforced errors... everything. But I'm in the semifinals and I don't feel I've played my best tennis, so that's a good thing. I'm hanging in there. Sometimes it's more of an achievement than winning your matches very easily."
Radwanska was playing her first tournament in three months and had survived a number of early round scares, including rallying from 4-1 down in the third to beat Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round and fighting off two match points to get past China's Peng Shuai in the fourth round two days ago.
"The second set was very, very close. A couple more points and for sure it could have been a third set," Radwanska said. "Every time I play the top players it's close. But this year, the quarterfinals is a good result after my injury last year."
