Maria Sharapova defeats Svetlana Kuznetsova in Cincinnati
Maria Sharapova has defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open in Cincinnati.
In a three set encounter, both players had their ups and downs, with Sharapova taking the first set before Kuznetsova had the best of the second, which the unseeded player claimed in just 30 minutes to level the match at one set apiece.
Sharapova bounced back in the third and Kuznetsova was unable to claw her way back from a 0-3 deficit as the 10th seed ran out the 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victor.
The first-round exit follows Kuznetsova’s tournament victory at the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego this weekend, the dual Grand Slam champion’s first title in what has otherwise been a largely disappointing 2010.
While the turnaround from Sunday's final, during which Kuznetsova called on the trainer to treat back and knee problems, to Tuesday's first round did the 25-year-old no favours, she was not about to use it as an excuse for her loss to Sharapova in Cincinnati.
"I just need to get my ranking higher and then I can get a bye,” said Kuznetsova, who had fallen out of the top 10 to a ranking of world No. 21 prior to San Diego but moved seven places in the right direction as a result of that victory. “But I also have to give a lot of credit to Maria. She played really well in the third."
For Sharapova, whose 39 unforced errors could not halt her march to victory over Kuznetsova, it is more evidence that the former world No. 1 is approaching something like the form that took her to the top of the game prior to undergoing shoulder surgery in late 2008.
After failing to notch a win against a player ranked inside the top 40 all year, a couple of weeks ago in Stanford, Sharapova recorded victories over players ranked 23rd, 11th and 6th in the world before 18th ranked Victoria Azarenka defeated her in the final.
Sharapova now faces unseeded German Andrea Petkovic in the second round.
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