Vera Zvonareva Goes To Wimbledon Final

At each changeover in her Wimbledon semifinal, Vera Zvonareva ducked under her towel, away from the fans at Centre Court, the renewed expectations and the pressure of the moment. As recently as February 2009, Vera Zvonareva held a world ranking of No. 5. But after Thursday’s 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory against Tsvetana Pironkova, after injuries and a freefall down the rankings, Vera Zvonareva is likely to crack the top 10 once again.

“I can say I’m healthy, and finally, I can put up a good work,” she said this week. “I’m looking forward to improve my game and get back to that level where I was before.”

For Vera Zvonareva, actual tennis talent was never an issue. She was part of the wave of young Russians who were supposed to overtake the W.T.A. Tour and never exactly did.

Many, like Vera Zvonareva, succumbed to injury. Players like Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva, a pair of highly ranked players from Russia, withdrew from this tournament with injury. Zvonareva, who needed minor surgery on her right ankle last November, said that was the common thread.

“You cannot be on top of your game and play the best tennis the whole career,” Zvonareva said. “It happened that all of us were playing very good tennis at the same time and get into the top 10. It’s not easy. It’s very, very hard.”

Vera Zvonareva withdrew from Wimbledon last year with an injury, but returned this year seeded 21st and playing at a level above seeding. She eliminated three top 15 seeds in the past three rounds, knocking of Yanina Wickmayer, Jelena Jankovic, who retired because of injury while trailing in the second set, and Kim Clijsters to reach the semifinals.

Those semifinals last year at Wimbledon featured each of the top four seeds. This year, players like Pironkova made surprise entrances instead.