Israeli teen loses to Russian in opening round, tiring after winning the Prague Open on Sunday.
By FRANKIE SACHSpeer 298.88(photo credit: AP)
Shahar Pe'er finally ran out of steam on Tuesday, losing to Russian Vera Zvonareva in the opening round of the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome.
The Israeli teenager, who shot up to a career-high ranking of 32 in the world after winning the Prague Open on Sunday, dominated early before tiring in the 1-6, 6-2, 6-0 loss. Pe'er won just 10 points in the third set.
However, after a brief rest, Pe'er did come out a winner, teaming with Slovakian Janette Husarova to score a 6-2, 6-1 victory over the Italian pair of Corinna Dentoni and Vittoria Perugini. The losing duo were late replacements for the seventh seeded duo of Elena Dementieva of Russia and Italian Flavia Pennetta, which pulled out when the latter was injured. The win was Pe'er's ninth straight doubles victory, dating back to early April at Amelia Island. She had also won 10 in a row in singles before falling to Zvonareva.
Pe'er and Husarova will next meet Australians Nicole Pratt and Bryanne Stewart with a spot in the quarterfinals at stake.
Anna Smashnova's (45) participation at the event also came to a end Tuesday, as she went out to world No. 10, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 6-1, 6-3, in the second round.
In men's action, Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich learned that they will take on Michael Llodra of France and Belgium's Olivier Rochus in the second round of the Hamburg Masters in Germany. The Israelis, who are seeded sixth, benefited from a first-round bye, while Llodra and Rochus defeated Sweden's Thomas Johansson and Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-2, 6-2. Ram and Erlich reached the final of a Masters Series event for just the second time last week in Rome.
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
