New York: Vera Zvonareva took less than an hour to book her place in the second round of the US Open with a resounding 6-2 6-1 victory over Slovakian Zuzana Kucova on Tuesday.
It was a marginally tighter affair than the pair's only previous encounter at the 2004 French Open in which Kucova managed to take just two games off her Russian opponent.
A focused Zvonareva, who reached the Wimbledon final in July before losing in straight sets to Serena Williams, was never troubled by a rival ranked 119th in the world.
The 25-year-old number seven seed, who celebrates her birthday on September 7, faced four break points against her in the entire match and comfortably held her nerve for every one.
In all, Kucova, whose younger sister Kristina also took part in qualifying for the US Open, won just 37 points in a match lasting 58 minutes to Zvonareva's tally of 61.
Comments
0 comment