Zvonareva faces fitness fight

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:59

Zvonareva underwent ankle surgery last November after withdrawing from the season-ending Tour Championships and aggravated the problem in a straight-sets win over Ayumi Morita in Hong Kong this week. The 25-year-old was forced to skip a match against Victoria Azarenka on Friday, but had recovered sufficiently to partner Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a defeat by Caroline Wozniacki and Stefan Edberg on Saturday.

“I wasn’t 100%, it was just a fun mixed doubles match, but I wasn’t pushing myself as I would in singles,” said Zvonareva. “There is an ache right now and I think I will need 72 hours for the inflammation to come down. It is going to be a tough challenge for me to compete in Sydney, I have doubts about that. I will try to recover for Melbourne – but the inflammation is still there because of the surgery.”

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here

By Tim Farthing

About the Author / Tim Farthing

Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.