But it was not Clijsters, who carried an abdominal injury into Wimbledon that succumbed, rather it was her Russian opponent who needed the attention of medics after struggling with her breathing in the middle of the second set.
Zvonareva tried to carry on after a 10-minute break but eventually had to pull out of the third-round encounter while trailing 3-6, 3-4.
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‘It’s unfortunate that something like that had to happen in a Grand Slam,’ said Clijsters.
‘Vera’s a fighter, she’s been on tour for a number of years and we’ve had a number of tough battles.
‘In fact we’ve played all around the world. It’s sad to see her end the tournament in this way.’
The four-time Grand Slam winner has announced she will retire from tennis for a second and final time after the US Open in September. She appears determined to make it a long goodbye.
Clijsters is unseeded but will go into her last-16 match against world No 8 Angelique Kerber as favourite.
This is only her second go at Wimbledon in six years owing to injury and that two-and-a-half-year retirement, but a final spot is not impossible if she can nurse her troublesome abdomen, which forced her to quit in the semi-finals of the warm-up tournament in Holland last weekend.
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