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Serena Williams’ quest for a 6th Australian Open continues today when she faces Vera Zvonareva in the 2nd round of the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena. Join The Roar as we live blog the match from around 12:00pm AEDT.
After defeating Belgian, Alison Van Uytvanck, 6-0 6-4 in the first round on Tuesday night, Williams faces a tougher task against Zvonareva today.
For Zvonareva the last 24 months have been a nightmare. During that time, the former world number two has been dealing with setback after setback with illnesses and a shoulder injury affecting the last three years of her career.
It all started at the end of 2012 when a mysterious illness forced her out of most events towards the end of that season. She then suffered a shoulder injury before the 2013 Australian Open which required surgery and forced her out of action for 12 months.
Last year, she attempted a comeback to the sport, but was niggled by the shoulder again, which forced her out of action for a few months after Wimbledon.
This year she is making another comeback to the sport. So far it has been a good start to 2015 for the bronze medallist at the Beijing Olympics.
She made the quarter finals in Shenzhen and defeated Ons Jabeur in the first round of the Open on Tuesday.
The Russian now faces the toughest test in female tennis, Serena Williams.
It is a task Zvonareva has done ten times before in her career, with the last meeting between the two coming in 2012.
At her peak, Zvonareva was one of the best players in the game. Her power would trouble plenty of opponents. Her best also took her deep into Grand Slams.
At the Australian Open, she is a two time semi-finalist, in 2009 and 2011. In 2010, at the US Open and Wimbledon, she made the final, losing to today’s opponent at the All England Club.
That win in the final is one of seven Williams has had over Zvonareva. The Russian has defeated Williams three times with her last win coming in Eastbourne in 2011.
If Zvonareva is back to her best, she can trouble Williams today. The only problem with that is the Russian isn’t at her best.
At times she still struggles with her shoulder and she will need to be at her powerful best to defeat Williams.
Expect this match to be all about power, with both women smashing the ball around the court, and making plenty of winners. If Zvonareva can match it with Williams today in that department, then she can cause her some troubles.
We’ve seen before that Williams has had lapses in concentration at the Australian Open before. If she does that then Zvonareva can be an opponent that pounces and takes the chance to win.
I still expect Williams to win today, but with the surprise results at the Australian Open so far, anything could happen. This could be a danger match, and one to watch, if Zvonareva’s shoulder is up to the challenge.
Prediction: Serena Williams 2-0.
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