If Svetlana Kuznetsova’s poor form on clay in the lead-up to the French Open is anything to judge by, the Russian’s chances of defending the title she won at Roland Garros last year appear slim.
Kuznetsova began the clay-court season by sinking without a trace at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. As defending champion, she was defeated in her second round match by China’s Li Na, who after reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January had hardly been in blistering form herself and entered her first clay-court tournament of the spring coming off three consecutive first- round losses on the hard courts.
There was to be no improvement for Kuznetsova at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, where she lost her opening match to Russian counterpart and world No. 37 Maria Kirilenko, before bowing out to Israel’s Shahar Peer in the first round of the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open.
Article continues at http://blogs.bettor.com/French-Open-defence-looks-unlikely-for-Kuznetsova-a11229
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