By Erik Gudris | Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Even with Maria Sharapova out of action, several Russian women, including Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova are enjoying a resurgence this week at Wimbledon.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
As Serena Williams makes her way into what she hopes is yet another Wimbledon final, a familiar pattern has emerged in the second week of her path to that final.
Wimbledon: Vesnina Makes First Ever Major Semi
Williams has faced two Russians in her last two rounds and will face another in her semifinal.
Overall, it's been a solid Wimbledon fortnight for many Russian women. That's good news not only for their country's medal hopes in the upcoming Summer Olympics, but also suggests a brighter future in the sport when only recently Russian women's tennis seemed mired in long-term uncertainty.
In 2004, after three Russian women won Grand Slam titles, it was very commonplace to see multiple Russian women go deep in the second week of a major. While several Russians, including former No. 1 Dinara Safina, Olympic Gold medalist Elena Dementieva, and two-time major finalist Vera Zvonareva, made their marks, slowly Russian women faded from being consistent contenders at the majors, except for one woman.
This time last year, five-time major winner Maria Sharapova remained the only real consistent force in women's tennis from her country. 12 months ago, Sharapova took on Williams in what was a losing effort in the Wimbledon semifinals. This year, Sharapova had to sit on the sidelines as she waits to hear about her appeal for being suspended two years for a doping violation.
But a mixture of veterans and a rising newcomer are proving that Russian tennis will move forward, with or without Sharapova.
31-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time major winner, in previous years dealt with injuries and inconsistency despite her pleasing all-court game. Yet the veteran "Sveta" continues to build steady momentum this season that started by her winning the Sydney title. This spring in Miami, Kuznetsova defeated Williams en route to reaching the finals.
Williams defeated Kuznetsova in their fourth round meeting at Wimbledon. But Kuznetsova's best showing at Wimbledon in eight years puts her on the cusp of returning to the top 10 for the first time since 2010.
The next Russian hurdle for Williams was in the quarterfinals where she faced No. 21 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. After a standout junior career, many predicted that Pavlyuchenkova would be a top 10 or even top five player.
But inconsistency and lack of fitness has plagued "Pavs" in her career. That seems to all have changed this year at Wimbledon. Looker fitter than she has in years, Pavlyuchekova is now working with Dieter Kindlmann as her new coach, a former member of Sharapova’s team. Though Pavlyuchenkova hit a career high of No. 13 a few years ago, it appears she might finally be ready to take that next leap in the rankings.
“Of course now after Miami I was like, yeah, right, I need to commit and change something and do something with my tennis and my work,” Pavlyuchenkova said about working with her new coach. “You have to stay tough and fit. It's normal for everyone, including me. I have to be the same, you know, to compete with those athletes.”
Elena Vesnina, however, is the biggest surprise of the entire event. The 29-year-old Russian, who fell out of the top 100 last year, battled her way into her first ever career Grand Slam semifinal. Vesnina, who enjoyed more success on the doubles court of late, talked about keeping her belief alive that she could once again be a top-performing singles player.
Vesnina will need to keep that belief high as she now faces the daunting task of trying to stop Williams from reaching the Wimbledon final.
"That's a dream semifinal. I think nothing can be better than playing against Serena in semifinal on Centre Court at Wimbledon. It's special,” Vesnina said. “Of course, I need to try to win this match. It's not only about, like, you know, you have to show your best tennis. You have to stick to your game, you have to be solid, you have to enjoy yourself on the court. Of course, I will try to win it.”
While Russian veterans are enjoying a resurgence on the grass, it may be the young Russian making her Wimbledon debut this fortnight who could have the potential to be the next big star from her country.
19-year-old Daria Kasatkina severely tested Venus Williams in their rain delayed third round battle earlier last week. The No. 29 seeded Kasatkina earned her seeding due to her recent meteoric rise up the WTA rankings. Kasatkina went from being ranked at No. 370 in the world to No. 72 at the end of 2015.
A clean ball-striker with a solid backhand and nice touch, Kasatkina barely lost to the elder Williams 10-8 in the final set of their match.
Kasatkina will join Kuznetsova, Pavlyuchenkova, Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova on the Russian Olympic team. It's worth noting that Makarova enjoyed a huge upset of her own earlier by knocking out former two-time champion Petra Kvitova in the second round.
With their solid form in Wimbledon, the Russians have given themselves a good chance to potentially become medal contenders in Rio and keeping alive the new momentum built during these two weeks.
"We have always had very tough Russian players, women,” Pavlyuchenkova said about her fellow teammates. “Yeah. I think it's great, because I think we kind of push each other, so, you know, we have this competition, someone want to do better than the other one.”