Indian Wells: Champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Russian Vera Zvonareva completed crushing victories to set up a title clash in the final of the WTA event at Indian Wells.
Top seed Ivanovic pummelled 17-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavyluchenkova 6-2, 6-3 in the second semi-final after fourth-seeded Zvonareva had swept aside her doubles partner Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-3.
Ivanovic, who hammered Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3 in last year's final, was barely troubled as she broke Pavyluchenkova three times in a dominating display.
The 21-year-old from Belgrade sealed the win with a rasping crosscourt forehand before pumping her left fist in celebration.
"I love coming here and the crowd has been great," Ivanovic said in a courtside interview after wrapping up victory in 75 minutes at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Friday.
"I have really enjoyed this week and I look forward to the final. It's going to be a tough match as she has been playing well," she said of Zvonareva.
The Russian, who had not dropped a set to Azarenka in their three previous meetings, eased through to the final after one hour, 20 minutes on a blazing hot afternoon.
The 24-year-old, controlling the match with her powerful groundstrokes, broke her opponent in the sixth game before going on to take the opening set.
Although eighth seed Azarenka provided stiffer resistance in the second set, the Russian world number six broke in the first and ninth games to reach her second final of the season.
"It's great," said Zvonareva, who clinched her eighth WTA title in Pattaya, Thailand last month.
"It's my first final here and I played my first semi-final here today so I'm pretty happy to be through this one. I'm pretty satisfied about my game overall," added the Russian, who reached the last four at the Australian Open in January.
"I had a few double faults and a few mistakes here and there, but I was going for my shots. It's a big event, a great tournament and I'm really happy about it," she said.
Azarenka, who won the first WTA titles of her career in Brisbane and Memphis this year, was disappointed after totalling 37 unforced errors and just eight winners.
"I didn't play the game that I had to play, it was only unforced errors for me," the 19-year-old said. "Vera played good. I didn't do even 10 percent of my game today."
One consolation for Azarenka, who upset top-seeded Russian Dinara Safina in the quarter-finals, is that she will break into the world's top 10 for the first time when the rankings are issued on Monday.
Comments
0 comment