Wimbledon finalist Zvonareva wants win in first event since SW19
Published:Vera Zvonareva is making her first appearance since losing the Wimbledon final to Serena Williams by competing at the Mercury Insurance Open this week.
And the Russian world number nine, at 4/1 to win the event, looks a sound bet to go one better on San Diego’s hard courts than she did on London’s grass.
Seeded three for the competition, Zvonareva is the second highest ranked player left at the tournament, after Jelena Jankovic’s shock defeat on Wednesday, and she could take one step closer to winning her tenth career title with victory in her second round match against Coco Vandeweghe.
As Vandeweghe is an 18-year-old qualifier it’s little surprise Zvonareva hasn’t met the American before, and despite taking three sets to dismiss her previous opponent, 25-year-old Zvonareva should beat Vandeweghe comfortably.
A 2-0 victory for Zvonareva is priced at 4/11. The match starts at 3.05am on Thursday.
Daniela Hantuchova vs Jie Zheng
27-year-old Hantuchova (14/1 to win the event) has won in straight sets on both occasions the players have met previously but the current world number 25 has slipped in form this season, earning half as much prize money as Zheng.
Zheng (also 14/1 to win the tournament), ranked 23 in the world, won her first round match in two sets, while the Slovakian took three and that extra effort could prove decisive.
The Chinese player is 11/10 to win the match compared to 4/6 for Hantuchova and such is the closeness between the two a third set seems inevitable. Back Zheng to come out victorious 2-1 at 10/3. The match starts at 8.30pm tonight.
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Sara Errani
Two-time major winner Kuznetsova looks the overwhelming favourite to win the match (3/10), with a bet on a straight sets victory, as in their only previous encounter, probably earning more payback (5/6). The match starts at 10.00pm tonight.
Zvonareva and all the others in action here, will be using the hard courts as a warm-up for the US Open, which starts at the end of August. Zvonareva is a 20/1 chance to win at Flushing Meadows.
