Seventh seed Vera Zvonareva was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon because of an ankle injury, while other seeded players advanced on Day 5, except for Dominika Cibulkova and Marion Bartoli who were upset, and seed No.28 Sorana Cirstea who was defeated by seed No.8 Victoria Azarenka.
Russian Zvonareva was supposed to play seed No.26 Virginie Razzano in the third round, but the Frenchwoman got a walkover. The world No.7 Zvonareva was sidelined for eight weeks after injuring her ankle in a match against Razzano in April, but returned to play in the at Eastbourne this month.
Second seed Serena Williams became the first player to earn a spot in the second week of Wimbledon by blowing her unseeded Italian opponent away 6-3 6-4 and will face Daniela Hantuchova for a place in the quarterfinals. Fourth seed Elena Dementieva brushed aside fellow Russian Regina Kulikova 6-1 6-2 to move into the fourth round.
Seed No.14 Dominika Cibulkova lost to Elena Vesnina 7-5 4-6 6-4, while No.12 seed Marion Bartoli fell to Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (5) 6-0.
I’m so sorry for Vera. she’s a great player and deserve the best!
My absolute favorite player…….Damn!!!—–go take a break and make sure you are healthy in time for the US Open……
When I heard about Vera Z’s injury I thought that she would have been out for about year and I was surprised how quickly she came back. I would preferred she rested and recovered at 100%. If she doesn’t she could sabotage her tennis career.