Svetlana Kuznetsova tricks away Maria Kirilenko in round two – Qatar Ladies Open 2012
In an all-Russian contest, fourteen seed Svetlana Kuznetsova powered down Maria Kirilenko, in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 during the second round match of the Qatar Ladies Open tournament on Wednesday.
The 18th ranked Russian took an hour and 23 minutes to battle past her compatriot to book a berth in the third round against the likes of the Czech contestant, Lucie Safarova.
It was the sixth face-off between the two players and Kuznetsova lead the head-to-head scores with 4-2 after this win. Kirilenko last defeated the 26-years-old Russian in 2010 during the Roland Garros French Open third round. Both
players were in sublime touch and everyone knew that it will just take a slice of luck for either of the contestants to nail down their opponent in this match.
Kirilenko commenced the match in dismal fashion and the luck factor had to play a lot in her first lost serve game. She slipped twice during rallies that gifted the points to her opponent and Kuznetsova is famous to scamper past
her opponent if she gets an initial outbreak.
The 25th ranked Russian had to wait five games before she could win the break back and boost her chances of winning the opening set. Apparently, she was too excited at winning a crucial breakthrough that diverted her
concentration and she lost the next game on her serve.
Smart Kuznetsova read the script extremely well and twisted her game plan to enhance her chances. She slowed the tempo of the play and frustrated her opponent; won the breakpoint and retained her lead until the end to register
the opening set triumph.
The second set started slowly but picked up momentum with Kuznetsova taking the lead in the fourth game with a successful breakthrough. Kirilenko fought back in the seventh game and won the break back; levelled the scores at 4-4.
Unfortunately, she got carried away for the second time in the match and lost another serve game with her opponent breaking serve and preparing to serve for the match. Kuznetsova gave just one point on her last serve game and crushed down the beauty queen
from Russia.
Safarova is her next opponent who dumped the former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, in a taxing three-setter, earlier in the day. She is all set to register another upset with her form sky-rocketing in the recent past. It
will be a strong test for the Russian to survive the next round draw.
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