Apia International Sydney Tennis - Australian Open Series

Kuznetsova reaches second round

Sunday 10 January 2010 4 Comments »

Svetlana Kuznetsova has edged her way into the second round of the Medibank International Sydney after a hard-fought three-set win over fellow Russian Alisa Kleybanova.

The number three seed, prevailed 6-4 6-7 7-5 in almost two-and-a-half hours on Ken Rosewall Arena after coming back from 3-0 down in the deciding set.

The reigning French Open champion said she was pleased to have survived her opening match.

“I was down 0-3 but I pushed back when I needed most and it worked for me. I played good at the important moments in the third set,” she said.

“She [Kleybanova] started to play definitely better, she started to serve better and it was difficult for me. I was a little bit laid back, perhaps I was waiting a little bit too much for her and made unforced errors  and then going for my shots, I think that was a mistake.”

Kuznetsova, who will play either Dominika Cibulkova or a qualifier in the second round, said it was important to win today to kick off her Australian summer.

“I need some matches, I am happy in some way to play a long match today,” she said.

“It’s not good for me not to close [out the match] when I have too but to have a long fight it’s also good because you play lots of points and you get adjusted to the court and get tested.

“In Australia, with the heat it gets really soft and sometimes with the wind it’s very tough to play and it’s good to play a three-setter.”

Earlier, Daniela Hantuchova was the first player to reach the second round with a comfortable victory over Virginie Razzano.

The unseeded Slovakian cruised past the French world No.19 6-3 6-0 in under an hour to set up a meeting with fifth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva.

Hantuchova, who was knocked out in the quarterfinals of last week’s Brisbane International, broke Razzano’s serve on five occasions throughout the first main draw match on Ken Rosewall Arena.

Reigning champion Elena Dementieva, who beat Dinara Safina in last year’s final, won the third and final match on centre court today against Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-2 7-5.

Scores: Main draw and final round qualifying results

Tags: Daniela Hantuchova, Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova

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