Svetlana Kuznetsova cripples Eleni Daniilidou in the opening round – Fes WTA 2012
Second seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova, blasted past the Greek contestant, Eleni Daniilidou, with a breadstick at the Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem 2012 on Tuesday. She jolted down a 6-1, 7-5 victory against the 29-year-old to power into the second
round at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International event held in Fes, Morocco.
The high flying Russian ,who is coming off after stunning Serbian number one Ana Ivanovic at the Fed Cup on Saturday, capitalised fully on 14 double faults Daniilidou committed. After bagging this match in one hour and 17 minutes, Kuznetsova not only avenged
her loss at the Los Angeles WTA event seven years ago but also took lead in the head-to-head series by 2-1 against the Greek.
"It was tough because Fed Cup was indoors and I was really tired," the Russian commented in a courtside interview. "I had a little bit of trouble with my movement and concentration in the second set, but I'm happy to get through in two sets."
Kuznetsova thundered into the Royal Tennis Club de Fes and went on four-game tear before the Greek could hold on. She maintained her intensity after that and stroke out the proceeding two games to pull out the opener with a breadstick.
Ranked 27th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Kuznetsova lost her track in the following set and after gifting away her serve twice, she fell at 0-3. Despite snatching a break back in the very next game, the Russian lost her serve once more and trailed
at 2-5. However, Kuznetsova went berserk after that and reeled off the proceeding five games in a row, ultimately sealing the set by winning seven games to five.
Overall, the 26-year-old ruled throughout the match and spilled zero double faults. She failed to ward off all three breakpoints she faced but cashed in seven out of 11 break opportunities to her advantage. Kuznetsova also produced a better first serve share
of 70 per cent as compared to her rival’s 56 per cent and availed 23 out of 37 points on it.
Kuznetsova previously entered this event in 2002 where she made her first final four berth that week.
"This is my first clay court outdoor tournament of the year, so I'm looking forward to getting some matches in," Kuznetsova was quoted.
The Russian will square off against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu who trashed the Hungarian challenger, Timea Babos, in straight sets to set-up this meeting.
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