INDIAN WELLS, California—Defending champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia will face Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in the 2009 BNP Paribas Open championship match.
Zvonareva advanced to the final after beating her doubles partner Victoria Azarenka in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
It was a lackluster performance by Azarenka who surrendered four double faults and posted a fifty-nine percent first serve percentage.
“It was only unforced errors for me,” said a disappointed Azarenka after the match. “Vera played good. I didn’t do even 10% of my game today.”
With her win today, Zvonareva has tied Azarenka’s Sony Ericsson WTA Tour best win/loss record for the year at 17-2. Despite losing in the semifinals, Azarenka is projected to debut in the Top 10 when the new rankings are released on Monday.
The sunny conditions bothered Zvonareva, but she was able to overcome the distraction to her game.
“It’s always difficult to play when the sun was right on that side. So when she threw a couple of high balls, it’s very difficult, because you try to concentrate on the ball so much,” Zvonareva said later. “But I think I managed it pretty good.”
Sunday will mark Zvonareva’s first appearance in the final at Indian Wells.
“It’s my first final here, and I played first semifinal here today, so I’m pretty happy to be through this one,” Zvonareva added.
After her title last year, Ana Ivanovic is comfortable on the courts at Indian Wells. She started her title defense somewhat tentatively, but has improved with every round. She needed only two sets to get past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Friday evening 6-2, 6-3.
Pavlyuchenkova’s success has been one of the top stories during the Indian Wells event since the seventeen year-old upset top seed Jelena Jankovic in the second round.
On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2009 BNP Paribas Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours.
