EASTBOURNE, England -- Serena Williams comeback ran out of steam at Eastbourne on Wednesday as she lost 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 to top-seeded Vera Zvonareva in the second round. Zvonareva came through a tense tussle in three hours 12 minutes for only her second win in eight matches against the 13-time Grand Slam champion. "I know I can do better," Williams said. "I can improve and Im so close to being there, its good." The No. 3-ranked Russian gained a measure of revenge for her 6-3, 6-2 loss in last years Wimbledon final that turned out to be Williams last match for almost a year as she recovered from a cut on her foot which led to blood clots on her lungs. Williams drew on her trademark fighting spirit in the deciding set as she came back from 5-2 down to make it 5-5, saving three match points at 5-4. But Zvonareva immediately broke again and a tiring Williams couldnt muster another fightback. On the day she was awarded a Wimbledon seeding of seventh, 19 places above her world ranking, Williams was beaten on grass for the first time since she lost the 2008 final at the All England Club to her sister Venus. However, the four-time Wimbledon winner said she was happy with her preparations for the defence of her title -- and even happier that the foot injury was no longer troubling her. "It was a good two matches for me," Serena said. "I couldnt be happier with the amount of tennis I played so its good, just keep going. "I havent played in almost a year so Im a little sore. But its good that Im sore now because hopefully next week I wont be as sore. (The foot) is holding up really well and Im just really excited about that." Returning from her own injury layoff, Venus Williams had earlier reached the quarter-finals with a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Ana Ivanovic, and her younger sister looked set to join her in the last eight when she served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. But when facing a break point, Serena double-faulted and Zvonareva suddenly rediscovered her confidence. Leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker, the Russian drove a forehand into the corner, with Serena on her backside after slipping on the baseline. Trailing 5-4 in the decider, Serena hopped on one foot and looked surprised and relieved as a bold backhand winner looped onto the line to save a second match point. She went on to break back with another brutal backhand winner. But Serena was broken in the next game and Zvonareva wouldnt be denied again. She moved into a 40-0 lead and then powered a forehand winner onto the baseline to claim victory on her fourth match point. "Its never easy against Serena," Zvonareva said. "Shes a great fighter and she came up with some great shots at the very important moments. I kept fighting and Im really happy I won it." Venus, playing her second match following a five-month layoff, will face Daniela Hantuchova in the quarter-finals after easing past Ivanovic. The five-time Wimbledon champion didnt face a single break point in the first set while breaking Ivanovic twice. Ivanovic had her only break point at 1-0 in the second set but Venus sent down a 196 kph (122 mph) first serve to save it before breaking twice more and improving her record against Ivanovic to 7-1. "Right now I feel that Im playing very tough and Im playing well on the big points," Venus said. "These matches have been huge and crucial for me to just get back in the swing of things. Hantuchova knocked out Li Na 7-6 (7), 6-3. Li, playing her first tournament since winning the French Open, held five set points in the tiebreaker and led 3-1 in the second set before losing the last five games. "Im still happy I play two matches in here," Li said. "Still have three days until Wimbledon, so of course now hard working and prepare (to get) ready for Wimbledon." Defending champion Ekaterina Makarova of Russia lost 7-6 (8), 7-6 (4) to fifth-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova after holding three set points in the first-set tiebreaker and a set point at 6-5 in the second set. Fourth-seeded Francesca Schiavone was beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Polands Agnieszka Radwanska, but sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Australian seventh seed Sam Stosur defeated Serbian qualifier Bojana Jovanovski 6-3, 6-2. Only one seeded player remains in the mens event after top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was beaten 6-2, 6-3 by Radek Stepanek and sixth-seeded South African Kevin Anderson was defeated 6-3, 6-2 by Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Tsonga played the final at Queens Club on Monday then a singles and doubles match Tuesday, and the Frenchman admitted his heavy schedule had taken its toll. "It was difficult for me today because I played doubles last night and I didnt recover enough," Tsonga said. The only remaining seed is No.3 Janko Tipsarevic, who defeated Britains James Ward 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a first-round match that had been suspended overnight at one set all. His second-round match against Russian Mikhail Kukushkin was halted by rain early in the first set. nfl jerseys china . -- Bill OBrien took the podium, looked straight ahead and uttered the kind of words you would expect from someone who had just been introduced as Penn States new head football coach. cheap jerseys . Two wins on the other hand, and first place in the division was within their reach. Back-to-back wins and the Caps are five points back of the Jets. The effort by the Jets was far better than what it was Thursday, but the result was the same. http://www.cheapnfljerseys2015.us.com/ . Italian Premier Mario Montis refusal to provide financial support for Romes bid Tuesday ended the Eternal Citys hopes of bringing the Olympics back to the capital for the first time since 1960. Monti said it would be an irresponsible use of taxpayers money to fund the $12. wholesale nfl jerseys . -- Adam Cracknell scored a tiebreaking goal with 2:20 to play and Chris Stewart had a goal and two assists as the St. wholesale jerseys . Miles Plumlee and rookie Dionte Christmas, 3 for 4 on 3-pointers, added 14 points each. Starting point guard Goran Dragic, who was 0 for 3 in 7 minutes, was the only one of Phoenixs 16 players who did not score.MACAU, Macau -- Robert Garcia, the trainer of Brandon Rios, said Friday that Manny Pacquiao is showing signs of coming to the end of his career and vulnerable in the WBO international welterweight title fight. Pacquiao is coming off two losses and has not fought since his devastating knockout defeat at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez almost a year ago. Garcia said hes noticed subtle signs of decline in the Filipino boxer, once considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. "Everybodys end comes someday and it could be this fight," Garcia said. "He does have a lot to lose in this fight, and thats pressure not only for him but his trainer and everybody in his camp." "There are things Ive seen in his last two fights that maybe a lot of people who havent fought dont see. I went through those things and I already see them ... A lot of fighters go through the same things, they dont even tell their wives, but I can see it in him." Pacquiaos trainer Freddie Roach bristled when told of Garcias comments. There has been no love lost between the two camps since a physical altercation between them in the training gym on Wednesday. "When does he watch my guy? Does he see my guy train every day, does he see the sacrifices my guy goes through, does he see the roadwork we do every day?" Roach said. "If Manny shows any sign of slippage in training camp Id be the first to tell him its time to quit, and its not time yet forr sure.ddddddddddddI hope they are overconfident because Manny is going to destroy this guy." The undercard for the fight at The Venetian casino in Macau begins Saturday night, followed by the main event about 3 hours later. It begins early Sunday local time. Pacquiaos contentious points loss to Timothy Bradley, followed by his frightening knockout against Marquez had raised questions about whether he could ever get back to his top form, with Garcia among the doubters. "The Manny of three, four years before should have beaten Bradley," Garcia said. "Marquez is 40 years old and Pacquiao was supposed to beat him, to knock him out. Pacquiao got tired and he got knocked out, it wouldnt have happened three or four years ago. He hasnt dropped anybody since 2009." Roach acknowledged Pacquiaos recent failure to knock out opponents -- dating to his victory over Miguel Cotto in 2009 -- but said the Filipino fighter was eager to do so as way of announcing his return to the peak of the sport. "He could have knocked out a couple of guys since then, but his compassion got in his way," Roach said. "Coming off two losses, he knows he has to be impressive, and being impressive is not winning by close decision, being impressive is winning by knockout. "I dont feel Rios can go the distance with a guy with the talents of Manny Pacquiao. Its a world-class fighter going in against a guy who is a journeyman at best." cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '