WIMBLEDON, England — For the women’s final at Wimbledon, Serena will be the serene one.
On one side today is Miss Williams, wearing a strawberry-and-cream dress befitting the occasion, and hoping to celebrate her 13th Grand Slam title with the same dainty curtsy she showed the queen of England last week.
On the other side is Russian Vera Zvonareva, towel draped over her head during changeovers as if hiding from her reputation for crying jags, temper tantrums and collapses in big matches.
Williams has been known for the occasional outburst. But her meltdown at the 2009 U.S. Open is a fading memory — she giggled reminiscing about it last week — and her comportment and her tennis have been impeccable through six rounds at Wimbledon.
Zvonareva has yet to be seen losing her cool, either, but who knows what goes on under that towel? She uses it for refuge during changeovers to help her concentrate, and the result has been an improbable run to her first Grand Slam final.
In a tournament filled with surprises, the success of the hard-hitting Russian ranks right up there with the relentless sunshine. Long regarded as an underachiever prone to self-destruction, the No. 21-seeded Zvonareva beat former No. 1s Kim Clijsters and Jelena Jankovic en route to the final.
In her past two singles victories, Zvonareva rallied from a set down.
“With experience and maturity, I learn a lot about myself, and I know where I have to pump myself up and where I have to calm myself down,” the 25-year-old Zvonareva said Friday. “But emotions, I think they’re good. It shows that you care.”
