INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA - Russia's Vera Zvonareva capped a remarkable fortnight at the BNP Paribas Open, beating Ana Ivanovic in straight sets to dust off a singles-doubles sweep at the $4.5-million tournament.
Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka won their first title as a team by beating Gisela Dulko and Shahar Peer in the doubles final Saturday; on Sunday, the Russian - who, seeded No.4, had not lost a set en route to the final - beat No.5 seed Ana Ivanovic, 76(5) 62, for her ninth and biggest career singles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
Although she didn't lose a set to defending champ Ivanovic in the final either, it was far closer than her previous five matches. The two women exchanged breaks twice early on but the real drama came with Zvonareva serving to stay in the set at 5-6, as she saved three set points to take the first set to a tie-break. Once she tucked that away, 7-5, she rolled in the second set - winning six straight games after falling behind 2-0 - to complete the BNP Paribas Open sweep, only the second player ever to do so (Lindsay Davenport did it twice, in 1997 and 2000).
"It's amazing. It's a great feeling to win such a big event. I'm still a little bit in the match," Zvonareva said. "I think I did a great job. Even though I made some mistakes and had some frustrating points with the wind, I was still trying to concentrate. I was fighting for every point, no matter what. Even if I was down 0-40 in a game I played for it. Maybe I was better at doing that today than Ana."
"It was the toughest conditions I've ever played in. Today it was about who could handle it better and stay mentally tougher through it, and she did. She played really well," said Ivanovic, who was visibly bothered by the blustery conditions. "I thought I had her in the first set a couple of times. I was very disappointed with the set points I didn't use. It was tough to come back in the second set."
Zvonareva has followed up a sensational 2008, during which she reached eight finals and reaffirmed herself as a Top 10 player, with more sensational results so far in 2009, including titles here and at Pattaya City as well as her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open. After Australia she cracked the world's Top 5 for the first time in her career, and after Indian Wells she returns to No.5.
Many other players were on fire in the desert this past fortnight, with Ivanovic leading Zvonareva's supporting cast: the Serb, who won one of her own biggest career titles right here a year ago, made it to her very first final of the year. Zvonareva's doubles partner, Azarenka, made it to the semifinals, a run that helped her crack the Top 10 herself; and then there was 17-year-old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who stunned Jelena Jankovic and Agnieszka Radwanska for her first Top 10 wins en route to her first Tour semifinal. Petra Cetkovska and Urszula Radwanska, young sister of Agnieszka, also pulled off Top 10 stunners in Week 1.
"I'm a little bit disappointed I could be up there with Martina Navratilova winning it a couple of years in a row, but I enjoyed playing here," Ivanovic continued. "I love coming to the desert. Everything is so easy going. I'm very thrilled that I managed to make the final again and I'm excited to come back next year."
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