Second-seeded Vera Zvonareva edged closer to making the final of her third Grand Slam, advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (9) win over Czech Lucie Safarova on Saturday.

Russian Zvonareva broke early in each set and was cruising to victory at 4-2 in the second, but double-faulted to allow 31st seed Safarova to break back to 4-4 at a sun-drenched Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne of Australia.

Vera Zvonareva of Russia returns the ball during the third round match of women's singles against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne Jan. 22, 2011. Zvonareva won 2-0.

Safarova saved two match points but conceded the third after Zvonareva deftly lobbed her to close out a pulsating tiebreak 11-9.

The match was exactly finished in two hours, Zvonareva served well as she earned 64 percent points on her serve. Zvonareva also fired four aces and hammered 21 winners. On the other hand, Safarova committed 38 unforced errors, as compared to Vera's 24, which made a big difference in the end.

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