Kuznetsova and Radwanska win Wimbledon openers
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agnieszka Radwanska are through to the second round of Wimbledon after recording straight sets victories in their opening matches on day two.
The 19th seeded Kuznetsova - whose ranking dropped out of the top ten after her third round defeat at the French Open, where she’d been champion in 2009 – saw off world No. 93 ranked Akgul Amanmuradova in three sets after a tough challenge in the opening match of the day on court two.
The Russian was forced to work for her victory against her relatively unknown opponent, with Amanmuradova serving eight aces on her way to winning the second set in a tiebreak after Kuznetsova had conceded just two games in the opening set of the match.
The Uzbekistani secured the first break in the third set, but Kuznetsova fought her way back to level proceedings at 3-3 and then brought up two match points against Amanmuradova’s serve before sealing victory with a forehand winner after almost two hours on court - the final scoreline 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4.
Out on court five, Radwanska opened her account at the All England Club this year with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Melinda Czink. While Czink 31 winners to Radwanska’s 19 for the match, the Hungarian’s 31 unforced errors, compared to her opponent’s five that cost her dearly in the end.
A quarter-finalist at the tournament for the past two years, the seventh seeded Radwanska faces a tough draw this year with Kuznetsova, defending champion Serena Williams and former champion Maria Sharapova all lurking in the same quarter of the draw.
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