Russian top seed Vera Zvonareva booked her place in the final of the 220,000-dollar WTA Baku tournament with a straight-set win over Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine here on Saturday. World number three Zvonareva won 6-1, 6-2 in one hour six minutes to level her head-to-head record with Koryttseva at 1-1.
“It’s always tough to play the semis and today’s match proved it once again,” Zvonareva said. “It’s very hot here in Baku and the match was much tougher than one can imagine looking at the scoreboard. “I’m ready to play any of the remaining opponents in the final. But for me it’s clear that on Sunday I should perform better than I did today.”
Zvonareva, 26, broke Koryttseva’s serve three times from the start for a commanding 5-0 lead before Ukraine’s 26-year-old chalked up her first point in the match, also with a break. After winning the first set in 25 minutes Zvonareva eased up, allowing Koryttseva to put her feet back on the ground in the second by making two early breaks.
But Zvonareva broke back on both occasions to keep the scores level at 2-2. In the fifth game Zvonareva maintained her grip on the playing taking four consecutive games to win the set and the match sealing.
