Vera Zvonareva through as Ivanovic bows out

Defending champion Vera Zvonareva moved into the semi-finals of the Pattaya Open in Thailand but second seed Ana Ivanovic was beaten by Roberta Vinci.

Zvonareva, seeking her third successive Pattaya Open title, defeated Peng Shuai 6-4 4-6 6-4 in two hours 27 minutes for her 13th consecutive win at the event.

In the last four she will face Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia after the fourth seed beat Akgul Amanmuradova 6-2 6-0.

Ivanovic lost 7-5 6-3 to fifth seed Vinci of Italy, the world number 38.

Zvonareva secured a break in the ninth game to gain the upper hand at 5-4 in the first set, and captured an early break in the second set to lead 3-1.

Her Chinese opponent, ranked 40th in the world, broke back in the next game to stay in the match and built a 5-4 lead, levelling the contest after the Russian served a double fault on set point.

In the decisive set, Zvonareva broke at the first opportunity and led 3-1 but handed it back in the fifth game. At 4-3, Peng had two break points on the Russian's serve but Zvonareva was able to hold the crucial game.

The top seed regained her composure to break for 5-4 and then saved two more break points to complete victory.

"I'd told myself come on, go for it, and luck was on my side," Zvonareva said. "It was just a few points that was there and there. I could have lost the match. I'm happy that I could turn it around."

Eighth seed Sara Errani of Italy rallied to beat Kazakh qualifier Galina Voskoboeva 2-6 6-3 6-2 in one hour 56 minutes and the world number 44 will now play compatriot Vinci in the last four.

Zvonareva stays the course in victory

Vera Zvonareva is utterly familiar with the ups and downs of tournament tennis.

So it was quite fitting Tuesday in the first round of the Mercury Insurance Open at La Costa Resort and Spa that she experienced her fair share of both as she battled Dominika Cibulkova, eventually defeating the hard-hitting Slovakian, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4.

This is Zvonareva's first tournament since she made it all the way to the finals of Wimbledon last month as the 21st seed, where she fell to Serena Williams in straight sets as Williams corraled her 13th Grand Slam title. That run allowed Zvonareva to climb to ninth in the world rankings.

"I'm just trying to concentrate on one point, on one match at a time and trying to get my rhythm and trying to find a way to play my best game on the hard courts," Zvonareva said. "There were some ups and downs (against Cibulka), but all in all I was able to pull the match out."

Zvonareva's game and emotions might best be described as mercurial. But when Cibulka was fighting her way back from a 5-2 deficit in the third set with some big forehands, Zvonareva stayed calm, counter-punching and ultimately breaking Cibulka to close out the match.

It ended with Cibulka netting a forehand.

"In the first set, I was able to play a little bit deeper and I was able to not let her dominate the way she did in the second set," Zvonareva said. "And I think my serve got better in the third set and that helped me a lot."

Prior to Wimbledon, Zvonareva, 25, had never made a Grand Slam final. But she won 10 WTA Tour singles titles and the doubles title at the 2006 U.S. Open with Natalie Dechy. The flip side to her game, and emotions, was illustrated in stark relief last year in a U.S. Open loss to Flavia Pennetta, when she earned six match points in the second set, lost them all, and then was blasted 6-0 in the third set.

"I played good tennis," Zvonareva said of that match. "I was just not able to close it out.

"Physically, I just couldn't do what I wanted in that match. I gave it all in the second set."

Next up for third-seeded Zvonareva is Coco Vandeweghe, the 18-year-old who grew up in Rancho Santa Fe and made it through to the second round with a 6-0, 3-0 victory over Gisela Dulko, who retired with a sprained ankle.

Vandeweghe played her way into the main draw with three wins in the qualifying draw.

"This tennis game is a building process," Vandeweghe said. "You've got to work your way up the rankings and that's what I've done."

That process can work in reverse, too.