Kuznetsova slump continues
Source: Agencies |
May 5, 2010, Wednesday
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SVETLANA Kuznetsova extended her run of poor results with a 2-6, 6-3, 4-6 loss to fellow Russian player Maria Kirilenko in the second round of the Italian Open in Rome on Monday.
The fifth-ranked Kuznetsova, who is a two-time runner-up at the Foro Italico, has not put together three consecutive wins since reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.
"I haven't had many matches this year and so I found it hard," Kuznetsova said. "I still have to find myself out there."
The 37th-ranked Kirilenko improved to 3-0 in her career over Kuznetsova.
"I felt so bad in the first set and then I started to get a little better in the second and third set," Kuznetsova said. "If I had played the first set like the second and third, then probably it would have been a very different picture."
Kuznetsova claimed the second grand slam title of her career when she won last year's French Open and the Rome tournament is an important claycourt warmup for Roland Garros, which begins in three weeks.
Kirilenko broke serve to end the match when Kuznetsova landed a backhand into the net.
In first-round action, No. 11 Yanina Wickmayer overcame a mid-match lapse to beat Karolina Sprem of Croatia 6-3, 1-6, 6-4; No. 12 Flavia Pennetta of Italy - the top local hope - advanced past Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-3; No. 13 Francesca Schiavone of Italy rallied to eliminate Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2; and No. 16 Shahar Peer of Israel easily defeated Italian wild card Corinna Dentoni, 6-2, 6-1.
Nine of the top-10 ranked players are in action at the tournament - No. 8 Samantha Stosur withdrew following her defeat by Justine Henin in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix on Sunday.
Henin and fellow Belgian player Kim Clijsters did not enter.
Another former French Open winner, Ana Ivanovic, rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Elena Vesnina.
Ivanovic's ranking has slipped from No. 1 to No. 58 and she recently hired Steffi Graf's old coach, Heinz Gunthardt.
"We made a plan when we started working together a couple months ago and it's working really well," Ivanovic said, adding that she expects to return to the top 10. "It's going to take some time but I really believe I'm going to be back."
Ivanovic will next face ninth-seeded Victoria Azarenka, whom she lost to in the fourth round of last year's French Open.
"I really hope I can take this victory as confidence for tomorrow," Ivanovic said.
Earlier, Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat United States Fed Cup teammate Melanie Oudin 6-1, 6-3.
Mattek-Sands won key singles and doubles matches back-to-back to lead the Americans to a 3-2 win over Russia in the Fed Cup semifinals eight days ago and she maintained that form against Oudin.
The 31st-ranked Oudin struggled with her serve, holding only three times and winning just 46 percent of the points with her first serve to Mattek-Sands' 81 percent.
The 128th-ranked Mattek-Sands improved to 3-0 in her career against 18-year-old Oudin, who reached the US Open quarterfinals in September.
The fifth-ranked Kuznetsova, who is a two-time runner-up at the Foro Italico, has not put together three consecutive wins since reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.
"I haven't had many matches this year and so I found it hard," Kuznetsova said. "I still have to find myself out there."
The 37th-ranked Kirilenko improved to 3-0 in her career over Kuznetsova.
"I felt so bad in the first set and then I started to get a little better in the second and third set," Kuznetsova said. "If I had played the first set like the second and third, then probably it would have been a very different picture."
Kuznetsova claimed the second grand slam title of her career when she won last year's French Open and the Rome tournament is an important claycourt warmup for Roland Garros, which begins in three weeks.
Kirilenko broke serve to end the match when Kuznetsova landed a backhand into the net.
In first-round action, No. 11 Yanina Wickmayer overcame a mid-match lapse to beat Karolina Sprem of Croatia 6-3, 1-6, 6-4; No. 12 Flavia Pennetta of Italy - the top local hope - advanced past Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-3; No. 13 Francesca Schiavone of Italy rallied to eliminate Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2; and No. 16 Shahar Peer of Israel easily defeated Italian wild card Corinna Dentoni, 6-2, 6-1.
Nine of the top-10 ranked players are in action at the tournament - No. 8 Samantha Stosur withdrew following her defeat by Justine Henin in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix on Sunday.
Henin and fellow Belgian player Kim Clijsters did not enter.
Another former French Open winner, Ana Ivanovic, rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Elena Vesnina.
Ivanovic's ranking has slipped from No. 1 to No. 58 and she recently hired Steffi Graf's old coach, Heinz Gunthardt.
"We made a plan when we started working together a couple months ago and it's working really well," Ivanovic said, adding that she expects to return to the top 10. "It's going to take some time but I really believe I'm going to be back."
Ivanovic will next face ninth-seeded Victoria Azarenka, whom she lost to in the fourth round of last year's French Open.
"I really hope I can take this victory as confidence for tomorrow," Ivanovic said.
Earlier, Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat United States Fed Cup teammate Melanie Oudin 6-1, 6-3.
Mattek-Sands won key singles and doubles matches back-to-back to lead the Americans to a 3-2 win over Russia in the Fed Cup semifinals eight days ago and she maintained that form against Oudin.
The 31st-ranked Oudin struggled with her serve, holding only three times and winning just 46 percent of the points with her first serve to Mattek-Sands' 81 percent.
The 128th-ranked Mattek-Sands improved to 3-0 in her career against 18-year-old Oudin, who reached the US Open quarterfinals in September.
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