When the year started, we were very, very bullish on Bepa Zvonareva. Though rarely mentioned, Zvonareva trained briefly in Maryland during the infancy of the Tennis Center at College Park.
Her 2010 summer run saw her make the finals at Wimbledon, Montreal, New York and Beijing. She had a 28-8 second half in 2010, and with Kim Clijster’s injuries, Vera moved into the #2 spot behind Caroline Wozniacki.
2011 saw her reach the Semis in Melbourne, and grab singles titles in Doha and Baku. She had a chance to reclaim the #2 ranking before losing to Agnieszka Radwanska earlier today in the Tokyo final.
There’s a feeling around the tennis world that her chances to grab a major title are shrinking, especially with the re-emergence of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
To make matters worse, Petra Kvitova, Li Na, Francesca Schiavone and Sam Stosur were all ranked below Zvonareva and yet all managed to grab grand slam titles in the last 16 months.
Zvonareva’s play has been consistent. She’s had trouble breaking through against Wozniacki but has proven she can do it. She hit a wall in losing to US Open Champion Sam Stosur in the Quarterfinals at New York.
There comes a time when that consistency has to pay off. We believe that she will be in prime contention for Beijing and the WTA Championships. We still think that would mean less to her than holding the women’s singles trophy aloft at Melbourne Park next January.
We expect nothing less than a Slampionship title for Bepa in ’12. She’s earned it. Now it’s time to take it.
Tennis Atlantic 
Return Serve?