Baku, Azerbaijan, July 25: Vera Zvonareva won her second title of the year Sunday, beating Ksenia Pervak 6-1, 6-4 in an all-Russian final at the Baku Cup.
Zvonareva started strong with a break in the opening game. Pervak then received treatment for a toe injury on her right foot after conceding another break. She won her first game to make it 4-1, but two straight double-faults handed Zvonareva a third break and the set.
The second set was more competitive, with the players trading breaks twice before Zvonareva broke a third time to clinch the match.
“Maybe I didn't play my best tennis this week but I still fought very hard and the level of concentration was very high and I really played every single match from the first point to the last, and it's a great feeling to win at the end of the day,”
Zvonareva said.
“Every single opponent was tough. You look at the draw and look at the rankings, but right now women's tennis is at a very high level and very competitive, and I know if I don't have my full concentration or I don't give my best there is no chance I will win a match.”
The seventh-seeded Pervak was playing her first WTA tour final and is expected to break into the top 50 when the new rankings are published Monday.
“(Zvonareva) is a really good player and has a lot of experience and it was really tough to play against her,” Pervak said. “But I think I played not bad in the second set and showed not my best game but I played pretty good I think.” AP
