Vera Zvonareva and Svetlana Kuznetsova to play next year’s ASB Classic – Tennis News
It has been announced that two Russian tennis stars, Vera Zvonareva and Svetlana Kuznetsova, will participate in next season’s ASB Classic in Auckland. This WTA event will be organised on the outdoor hard courts from December 31
to January 5.
Addition of Zvonareva and Kuznetsova in the already star studded line up is a huge boost for the event, with the total number of top-30 ranked players being six.
The Russian duo has a good track record at the Australian Summer. Zvonareva and Kuznetsova are also the winners of this year’s Australian Open women’s doubles title.
Zvonareva did not feature at the ASB Classic this year and instead she chose to play the Sydney event. The Russian beauty is a two-time former runner-up here, losing the title match in 2006 and 2007. However, Kuznetsova reached
the semi-finals of this year’s event. The right-hander is a two-time Grand Slam winner.
Some of the other top players who have already confirmed their entry in this event are the current world number four, Agnieszka Radwanska; German star, Julia Goerges; and Kazakhstan’s rising queen, Yaroslava Shvedova.
Briefing the reporters on the final line up of ASB Classic, tournament director, Karl Budge, said, "I'm absolutely thrilled that we've been able to provide the best possible showcase for tennis fans. We've been very strategic in
who we approached, and have gone out and identified players we think we can get who are going to tick the boxes we want to see here."
This is Budge’s first year as the head of the organising committee and he has already got a lot of praise by signing these high class players. Two former champions of this event, Yanina Wickmayer and Zheng Jie, will also be returning
to the event.
Budge added, "The tournament promises to be a great contest between the young blood of Radwanska, Goerges and Shvedova against the wise heads of Zvonareva and Kuznetsova. And the two former champions [Wickmayer and Zheng] will
keep them all honest."
Local hopes will be on the Kiwi number one, Marina Erakovic. While, Great Britain’s fast rising star, Heather Watson, will also fight for the title here.
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