Vera Zvonareva – Sania Mirza Match Analysis From PTT Pattaya 2009
Vera Zvonareva has confirmed her top #5 position in the WTA by beating Sania Mirza in the finals of the WTA PTT Pattaya Open 2009.
 |
| Vera Zvonareva beats Sania Mirza in the final of the PTT Pattaya 2009 Picture by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images |
I’ve analyzed the match in the same way as I did the Federer – Nadal final of Australian Open 2009.
The stats in the table below start at 2-1 in the first set because I saw the match on TV and didn’t catch the first three games. But the main story of the match can be clearly seen from the stats which are explained below the table.
First Set Analysis
| Sania Mirza | Vera Zvonareva | |||
| Score | UE | WF | UE | WF |
| 2′-1 | F | S | Fv, F | |
| 2-2′ | F | S,S,F,S | ||
| 2′-3 | B,B | F | Fr | B,F |
| 2-4′ | F | S,S,S | ||
| 2′-5 | F,B,F,S | Fr,B | ||
| 3-5′ | B,F | F,F,F,F | F | F |
| 4′-5 | F | F | F,F,F | B |
| 5-5′ | B | Br | S,S,F | |
| 5′-6 | B,F,S,B,F,B | B,S,F,F,S | B | |
If you’ve watched the match then you know that this was a high quality women’s tennis match. Both Zvonareva and Mirza played really well and both hit more winners and forcing shots than unforced errors.
Mirza’s forehand was just incredible at times as she has the ability to hit the ball as fast as I’ve ever seen any women hit a tennis ball.
Here’s what the stats tell us:
1. When Sania Mirza was 2-5 down in the first set, she took total control of the rallies and prevented Zvonareva from dictating the play. Mirza won two games with 4 winners or forcing shots in each! Or in other words, Zvonareva hit 3 winners and made 1 unforced error in 2 games and lost both of them.
2. Zvonareva’s serve was working extremely well. She had 8 winners and forcing serves in 5 service games! That’s 1,6 points per service game! Or, to put it this way; she could have started the baseline rallies in 4 or her 5 service games leading 30:0.
3. Mirza’s forehand was working well but she also made some unforced errors. If you count only the forehand stats from the first set, she has 10 WF and 6 UE. So her forehand »percentage« when she goes for the big shot was 10 / 16 = 0,625 (62,5%). So if I were her coach, I would encourage her to go for it because she still wins more points than she loses!
4. Mirza’s backhand is a different story; 2 WF and 7 UE. 2 / 9 = 0,22 (22%) I didn’t count her intentions but at least half of those unforced errors were made attempting a big shot. That’s something she shouldn’t attempt with such a low percentage – she should use her backhand to work her opponent around with controlled top-spin shots and use her forehand for attacking and forcing shots.
Second Set Analysis
| Sania Mirza | Vera Zvonareva | |||
| Score | UE | WF | UE | WF |
| 0-0′ | B,B | F,F | B,S,S | |
| 0′-1 | B,S | Fv,Fv,S | F | |
| 1-1′ | Bv,F | S,S,F,S | ||
| 1′-2 | S,F | F,F | Bv,F | |
| 1-3′ | F | B,S,S | ||
| 1′-4 | F,F,S | B | B | |
| 1-5′ | B,Br,B | B,B | S | |
Zvonareva won the second set easily 6-1 for two main reasons:
1. Sania Mirza started to force her shots even more; she made 12 unforced errors and 7 winners and forcing shots. Meaning, she gave her opponent 5 more points than to herself.
Perhaps Mirza thought that because she lost the first set she needed to force even more to win points. I would disagree; in fact, I would tell her to keep playing her forehand in the same way as she did in the first set and play her backhand with more consistency. (she made 6 unforced errors with a backhand and 4 with the forehand!)
2. Vera Zvonareva played her service games extremely well; she had 8 service winners in only 4 service games. Again, that’s like starting a game from 30:0 up.
Vera also played very smart from the baseline as her aggressive margin ratio was 0 (6 unforced errors and 6 winners). As you can see from the stats, Vera did not make an unforced error from 1-1 to 1-4.
The first set of the match was definitely great to watch and I hope Sania Mirza will gain more confidence with her success and learn from her tactical mistakes.
 |
| Sania Mirza forehand Picture by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images |
She is very exciting to watch, she is not afraid to go for her shots and just needs to find the right measure of risk to crack the top 20 in the near future.
- Related posts:
