Tennis Update: Kuznetsova eased into the second round of the US Open with a victory over Kimiko Date Krumm.
Former Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova booked her passage in the second round of the U.S. Open with a steamy victory over Kimiko Date Krumm on Tuesday with 6-2 4-6 6-1.
However, the 25-year-old Russian, who won the tournament in 2004 and reached the final in 2007, was far from convincing during the one hour 56 minutes match. Both the players were sweating heavily in the New York midday sun struggled eventually rewarded for the more tremendous approach.
In the 96-degree heat and the tricky Krumm, Kuznetsova wasn’t familiar to both of them before but recovered well especially in the second set. She committed 19 unforced errors in the second which she lost 6-4 to Krumm.
“That was a very tough match, she plays a very different game to everyone I have ever played before. I know Dinara Safina lost to her twice and she’s uncomfortable to play against but for me it was a nice to play her because I can play any type of game and it’s fun to do different sorts of things.” said Kuznetsova of her opponent.
Date started playing tennis at the age of 7. She is a right-handed player but is naturally left-handed. Due to playing with her right hand, her backhand is really powerful and strong. In the 2010 French Open, her performance was outstanding; she defeated seed No.9 and former world’s No.1 player Dinara Safina in the first round despite being down in the second round. Similarly, she defeated Dinara Safina once again in Stanford in the very first round. She received direct entry into the main draw at U.S. Open 2010 but unfortunately defeated by Kuznetsova.
"It was very hard to play somebody you have never played before, especially that good," Kuznetsova said.
The world No. 51 Kimiko Date Krumm, who was married to German racing car driver Michael Krumm, did not look concerned by the injury but just could not just match her opponent’s lasting power.
Moreover, Kuznetsova admitted that it was too early to judge her form in the tournament but then she was asked to look back on her 2004 triumph and she answered that she doesn’t remember.
Kuznetsova is praised for her playing style by her fans. Basically, she is an all-round player, who could easily adapt herself to any kind of surface. Her strong forehand always caught an eye of spectators and admired many times. Her strong serve always helped her to defeat her opponent and that is due to her powerful physique like Venus and Serena Williams. She could slide on all major playing surfaces with her footwork, which strengthens her game.
The defensive player, Kuznetsova started the year 2010 with the Medibank International in Sydney, where she defeated Alisa kleybanova before she lost to Dominika Cibulkov. She was seeded No.3 for the Australian Open, she went to fourth round before falling to Nadia Petrova and fell to world ranking No.4. Kuznetsova was seeded No.1 again at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open and unfortunately was defeated in the very first round. She regained her form in 2010 Mercury Insurance Open, where she defeated Agnieszka Radwanska. The victory took her to world’s No. 14 position. Similarly she showed a good performance in 2010 Roger’s Cup, where she was defeated by Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals.
The former 2004 U.S. Open champion will face unseeded 20-year-old Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in her next round. In 2010 Monterrey Open, Latvian Anastasija defeated World No.9 tennis player Jelena Jankovic in the first round and also reached the semi-finals, where she was defeated by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the three sets. The eyes of the spectators, fans, experts and all who love to see tennis are now on Kuznetsova’s performance in the next round, everyone is expecting her 2007 performance once again in the U.S. Open 2010. Votes are more with the former champion, but let’s hope that the hot weather of New York City will not affect her abilities and capabilities this time. May the best player win the match.
Tags: