By Dustin Dow
Enquirer staff writer

MASON - It wasn't pretty, but all that really matters is that Vera Zvonareva is still playing today in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open.

The No. 2 seed had to battle strong winds and a resilient opponent in Antonella Serra Zanetti before winning 6-4, 7-6 (3) Thursday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

"It was tough conditions today," Zvonareva said. "The wind was swirly. It wasn't that windy, but when you're on the court, and you have all the seats around the court so it makes it windy just around the court. It makes it tough."

Serra Zanetti had her chances to pull off what would have been the biggest upset of the tournament.

She went up by a break early in the first set and broke Zvonareva's serve three times in the second set.

But the 19-year-old Russian continued to break back, even down 5-3 in the second set.

"I was going for it," Zvonareva said.

"If something didn't work, I was thinking what should I do. Then I found my game a little later in the match."

Having received a first-round bye, Zvonareva was playing her first match since losing to Amelie Mauresmo in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup Aug. 7 in Montreal.

"It's always tough to play the first round," Zvonareva said.

"In the beginning, I wasn't really happy with the way I played, but then I was fine."

Today, Zvonareva plays Shaui Peng, who defeated Alina Jidkova Thursday night.

With her ranking at a career high of No. 9, Zvonareva is 8-2 in her last 10 matches,.the most notable win coming against Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova in Montreal.

Though she said she's not necessarily thinking about her ranking, Zvonareva has a chance to break into the top eight by season's end, which would place her in the WTA Tour Championships.

"I want to make it to the final championships in L.A.," Zvonareva said.

"That's my first goal."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com