Hong Kong: Vera Zvonareva and Anna Chakvetadze each won in straight sets Wednesday to help Team Russia beat Team Asia Pacific at a women's exhibition tournament.
The seventh-ranked Zvonareva beat Zheng Jie of China 7-6 (3), 6-4, and Chakvetadze defeated Sania Mirza of India 6-4, 6-4.
Zvonareva's match featured 13 breaks of service, and the Olympic bronze medallist trailed in both sets. She came back from 3-5 down in the first set, and then recovered from a 2-0 deficit in the second.
In the first-set tiebreak, Zheng, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2008, missed four straight backhands.
Chakvetadze used her big forehand against Sania, but the pair were still even at 4-4 after each breaking the other's serve in the first set. Chakvetadze then broke again in the next game and held serve to take the set.
In the second, Chakvetadze again broke at 4-4 and closed out the match in the next game with a winner.
Sania was returning to tennis after a right wrist injury cut her season short in 2008.
Team Russia will next face either Team Europe or Team Americas.
Team Europe leads 1-0 after top-ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal beat seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams and Coco Vandeweghe of the United States 6-4, 7-5.
On Thursday, Jankovic will play Venus in singles.
Comments
0 comment