WORLD SPORTS STARS: January 2011

Thursday, January 27, 2011

vera zvonareva early life and career

Vera Igorevna Zvonareva Russian listen born September 7, 1984 is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000.She has reached a career high and current ranking of World No. 2.Zvonareva has won ten WTA Tour singles titles and reached the finals of the 2008 WTA Tour Championships, 2010 Wimbledon Championships and 2010 US Open. She also was a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Contents
* 1 Early life
* 2 Career
o 2.1 1999–2001
o 2.2 2002
o 2.3 2003
o 2.4 2004
o 2.5 2005
o 2.6 2006
o 2.7 2007
o 2.8 2008
o 2.9 2009
o 2.10 2010
o 2.11 2011
* 3 Playing style
* 4 Personal
* 5 Singles performance timeline
* 6 References
* 7 External links
Early life
Zvonareva was born September 7, 1984 in Moscow to Igor Zvonareva and Nataliya Zvonareva (née Bykova). Igor played Bandy in the USSR championship with Dynamo Moscow, while Nataliya played field hockey and was the bronze medalist at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.[ Vera was introduced to tennis at the age of six by her mother, although no other members of her family play tennis.
Career
1999–2001
Zvonareva is no.2 in the world and started to compete on the ITF Circuit in 1999, debuting at an ITF tournament in Tbilisi, Georgia. She won three qualifying matches there to reach the main draw before losing in the first round. The next year, she won an ITF event in Moscow, Russia without dropping a set, despite being unranked. The event was just the second event she had played in her professional career. Five weeks later, she made her WTA-level debut at the Tier I tournament in Moscow, beating World No. 148 Elena Bovina before losing to World No. 11 Anna Kournikova in the second round. In 2001, she failed to qualify for WTA events in Key Biscayne, Florida and Moscow, but reached a semifinal at the ITF Circuit tournament in Civitanova, Italy. During this time, she also showed her adeptness in juniors' competition by winning the Orange Bowl under-18s event in 2000 and 2001.
2002
Zvonareva won her second ITF Circuit title in Naples, Florida and in July reached her first singles final on the WTA Tour at Palermo, losing to Mariana Díaz-Oliva in three sets. She also achieved semifinal finishes in Warsaw and Sopot plus a quarterfinal finish in Bol. Zvonareva won three qualifying matches at the French Open to reach the main draw for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. She lost there in the fourth round to eventual champion Serena Williams 4–6, 6–0, 6–1. Her ranking was high enough for a direct entry into Wimbledon where she lost in the second round to 23rd-seeded Iva Majoli 7–6(5), 6–2. At the US Open, Zvonareva lost to World No. 7 Kim Clijsters of Belgium in the third round 1–6, 7–5, 6–4. Her ranking rose into the top 100 after the French Open and into the top 50 after the US Open.
2003
Zvonareva won the title at the Tier III event in Bol, beating Conchita Martínez Granados in the final, and reached three other semifinals (including the Tier II event in Linz). She defeated a top 10 player for the first time when she beat World No. 10 Anastasia Myskina in Berlin. At the French Open, Zvonareva defeated World No. 3 Venus Williams in the fourth round before losing in the quarterfinals to World No. 76 Nadia Petrova. Her French Open results caused her ranking to enter the top 20. She reached the quarterfinals in six out of the seven Tier I events she contested. Her debut for the Russian Fed Cup team was in the World Group quarterfinals against Slovenia. Russia won 5–0 but lost to France 3–2 in the semifinals. In doubles, she reached her first WTA final at Moscow with Myskina. She ended the year ranked World No. 13.
2004
Zvonareva won her first career Grand Slam title, winning the mixed doubles competition at the US Open. She won one singles title, in Memphis, Tennessee, and reached the final of the events in Cincinnati, Ohio and Philadelphia, losing to top ten players Lindsay Davenport and Amélie Mauresmo respectively. In the final of the Memphis event, Zvonareva trailed hometown favorite Lisa Raymond 5–2 in the third set before saving three match points and winning the last five games of the match to win the title 4–6, 6–4, 7–5.[3] In addition to this, she reached the semifinals of three Tier I tournaments in Rome, San Diego, and Montreal. She lost in San Diego to fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina, in a match that featured a final set tiebreak that finished 17–15. Zvonareva and Myskina teamed up in the final of the Fed Cup, playing in the crucial final rubber against Marion Bartoli and Émilie Loit, which the pair won 7–6(5), 7–5 to seal Russia's first ever Fed Cup title.
Zvonareva ended the year ranked World No. 11, her best year-end ranking back then. In August, she reached her career high of World No. 9. Because of several withdrawals, Zvonareva was able to compete at the WTA Tour Championships, an event reserved for the top eight players in the world. She was unable to win a match and exited at the round robin stage.

vera zvonareva

Nadia Petrova playing Style

Nadezhda (abbr. Nadia) Petrova (Russian: Надежда Викторовна Петрова, Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova; born June 8, 1982 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian professional tennis player.
Overall, she has won 27 WTA Titles, nine in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005. In doubles, she won the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in 2004 with Meghann Shaughnessy. As of 25 October 2010 (2010 -10-25), Petrova is ranked World No. 15 in singles and World No. 11 in doubles.
* 1 Biography
o 1.1 Early life
o 1.2 Playing Style
* 2 Career
o 2.1 Early career
o 2.2 2003-2004: First Grand Slam Semi-Final and Top 10 Ranking
o 2.3 2005: First Career Title and Top 10 Finish
o 2.4 2006: Top 3 Ranking
o 2.5 2007
o 2.6 2008
o 2.7 2009
o 2.8 2010
o 2.9 2011
o 2.10 Doubles
* 3 Performance timelines
o 3.1 Singles
* 4 Career statistics
* 5 References
* 6 External links
Biography
Early life
Petrova was born in Moscow. Her parents were both very athletic - her father Viktor was a leading hammer thrower, while her mother Nadezhda Ilyina won a bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the 400 meter relay. Both her parents are still athletics coaches. As a child, Nadia did a lot of travelling around the world with her parents. She eventually settled in Egypt, where she trained with Mohammed Seif and her parents. Petrova states hard courts as her favourite surface, however, she has been most successful on clay courts. She is currently coached by Vladimir Platenik
Playing Style
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Petrova is an all-court aggressive player who is capable of hitting winners off both wings, but particularly off her back-hand which is considered to be one of the best in the women's game and which she is capable of hitting flat and with slice. Petrova's serve is considered her biggest asset and is one of the strongest on the women's tour along with the Williams Sisters and Samantha Stosur. In 2009 she hit the second most aces on the tour with 306, just behind Serena Williams and won over 72% of her service games. As an accomplished doubles player, Petrova's volleying skills are considered exceptional and she is not afraid to come into the net to finish off points. Petrova's main weakness is her movement around the court as she is often slow to retrieve balls and can sometimes struggle to defend well during rallies. Also, her forehand is sometimes erratic and can produce many unforced errors. Petrova states hard courts as her preferred surface, however, she has been most successful on clay courts where she can dictate play easier.
Early career
As a junior, Petrova won the 1998 French Open, beating Jelena Dokić in the final. The same year she finished runner-up at the Orange Bowl to Elena Dementieva and she also finished runner-up at the junior 1999 US Open to Lina Krasnoroutskaya. In May 1998, she played her first WTA tournament at the J&S Cup as a wildcard entrant. She also received a wildcard for her home event in Moscow, the Kremlin Cup, where she picked up her first top twenty win over Iva Majoli. By the end of 1999, Petrova had reached the top 100.
In 2000, she reached the third round of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals of the Ericsson Open, beating Julie Halard-Decugis for her first top ten win before losing to Lindsay Davenport. She finished the season at No. 50. She reached the fourth round of both French Open and the US Open in 2001 and her ranking hit a high of No. 38 during the season. However, her 2002 season was marred by injuries causing her ranking to drop out of the top 100.

Nadia Petrova

tatiana Perebiynis tennis career

Tetyana Yurevna Perebiynis born on December 15, 1982 is a Top 100 female professional tennis player born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, where she lives. She is an only child. She reached the Wimbledon junior girls' singles final in 2000, and won the Wimbledon juniors doubles final that year. She finished 2007 ranked #97 in the WTATour Rankings.
Contents
* 1 Biography
* 2 Tennis career
* 3 WTA & ITF Tour Titles (13)
o 3.1 Singles (4)
o 3.2 Doubles (10)
o 3.3 Mixed Doubles (0)
* 4 Singles performance timeline
* 5 External links
Biography
Tatiana Perebiynis is coached by her husband, Dimitriy "Dima" Zadorozhniy. The two were married on October 15, 2005 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Her father, Yuriy Perebiynis, is retired and her mother, Alla Lihova, is an economist at a bank.
Her most memorable tennis experience was in 2005, where she reached the final of Wimbledon in mixed doubles with partnered Paul Hanley. She also lists winning the Wimbledon Junior Doubles in 2000 and reaching the final in singles that same year as memorable experiences. Wimbledon is her favorite event. At the same times, she married with her compatriot and coach Dimitriy Zadorozhniy at this year of October 15 in her birth place.
She likes to listen to all kinds of music. Her hobbies are playing guitar, bowling, fishing and dancing, and her favourite city is Sydney.
Tennis career
Although she has not won a WTA Tour singles title but she has a runner-up in single when she lost to Australian Alicia Molik at Stockholm 2004, she has won quite a few WTA Tour doubles titles. Perebiynis' most notable doubles titles are her two victories at the J&S Cup in Warsaw, Poland, partnering with Barbora Strýcová (2005) and Vera Dushevina (2007).
Her best performance at a Grand Slam came at Wimbledon in 2005, when she partnered with Australia's Paul Hanley in mixed doubles. The pair reached the final, losing in straight sets to Mahesh Bhupathi and Mary Pierce, 6–4 6–2.
The following year, she partnered with fellow Ukrainian Yuliana Fedak for the qualifying event of women's doubles at Wimbledon. The pair qualified for the event, then reached the semi-finals where they lost to Paola Suárez and Virginia Ruano Pascual.
While Perebiynis was a talented junior and is currently a respected doubles player, she has had less success in singles on the main WTA tour. Though she swiftly climbed up the ranks early in her career, reaching the third round at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2004, her tennis career faltered when she was diagnosed with a viral infection mid-2005. She was forced out of competition for over six months and, as a result, her ranking plummeted outside of the top 200. In October 2007, Perebiynis reentered the top 100 after qualifying for the Kremlin Cup, jumping over 30 places to 97 in the rankings.
Tatiana Perebiynis in Antwerpen 2008
WTA & ITF Tour Titles (13)
Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tier I Event (0)
WTA Tour (5)
ITF Titles (8)
Finalist (14)

tatiana Perebiynis

Novak Djokovic tennis career

Novak Djokovic born 22 May 1987 is a Serbian professional tennis player, who is currently ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
He has won one Grand Slam singles title, the 2008 Australian Open, becoming the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events.[2] In addition to being one of the few that defeated Roger Federer in a Grand Slam, he is one of only two players to do so consecutively (the other being Nadal). He was also the runner-up at the 2007 and 2010 US Open tournaments, and a bronze medalist representing Serbia at the 2008 Olympic Games. He is currently in the final of the 2011 Australian Open. In addition, Djokovic won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and has won six Masters Series tournaments. In 2010, he led Serbia to win the Davis Cup. Djokovic has finished the ATP Tour as World No. 3 for four consecutive years in a row between 2007 and 2010. Djokovic's highest ranking to date is World No. 2, achieved in February 2010.
He is a double winner of the award The Best Sportperson of Serbia and award for The Best Sportsman by Olympic Committee of Serbia. He is considered to be the best Serbian tennis player in history, and one of the best to have ever come from the former Yugoslavia.
Contents
* 1 Biography
* 2 Tennis career
o 2.1 Early career
o 2.2 2006
o 2.3 2007
o 2.4 2008
o 2.5 2009
o 2.6 2010
o 2.7 2011
o 2.8 Davis Cup
* 3 Playing style and equipment
* 4 Djokovic–Nadal rivalry
* 5 Djokovic–Federer rivalry
* 6 Grand Slams
o 6.1 Grand Slam performance timeline
o 6.2 Grand Slam Finals
+ 6.2.1 Singles: 4 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
* 7 Career Statistics
* 8 In popular culture
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links
Biography
Novak "Nole" Djokovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia on 22 May 1987 to parents, Srdjan and Dijana Djoković. His two younger brothers, Đorđe and Marko, are also tennis players with professional aspirations. He has been in a relationship with fellow Serb and Belgrade native, Jelena Ristic for the past five years.

He started playing tennis at the age of four, and was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić at the age of eight, who stated: "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles." At 12 years old, he spent three months at Nikola Pilić's tennis academy in Munich, Germany, and at age 14, his international career began, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition. currently resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco and has been coached by a former Slovak tennis player, Marián Vajda; in August 2009 he also began working with former US top-five player Todd Martin.
Djoković is also known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova. He also did an impression of American tennis great John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience.
Tennis career
Early career
In the beginning of his professional career, Djoković mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005. His first tour level tournament was Umag in 2004, where he faced Filippo Volandri in the Round of 32, and lost 6-7, 1–6. He made his first grand slam appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian open where he met Marat Safin, as his first round opponent which he lost 6-0, 6-2, 6-1. Safin went on to win the tournament.