Anna falls to Kuznetsova
September 7, 2007
It was the battle of the Russians, as No. 4 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova faced No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze. Kuznetsova outlasted her countrywoman to advance to the final, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
In some ways, the two women are a study in contrasts, with the former US champion Kuznetsova trying to make her way back versus the up-and-comer Chakvetadze.
In the first set, neither woman was able to hold serve in the first three games, with Chakvetadze going up, 2-1. She then held and broke Kuznetsova again, taking a comfortable 4-1 lead.
The swirling wind, which provided a nice relief to those in the stands, created a hindrance for both players, making the ball difficult to judge. On one point, Chakvetadze missed the ball entirely, when the wind lifted it away from her.
Whether due to nerves or focus, Kuznetsova struggled with her game throughout the entire first set, not finding her groove at all. She seemed to have no control over any of her shots and became more and more visibly frustrated, at one point letting out a huge, frustrated yell at another lost point.
Kuznetsova, who had dropped only one set in the tournament before today's match (to Camille Pin in round two), subsequently complained to the umpire that all of the talking in the crowd was distracting her. However, even after the crowd was warned and quieted a bit, she still could not focus and gave the first set to her opponent, with a staggering 21 unforced errors.
In fact, after the match, speaking on court to Mary Joe Fernandez, Kuznetsova admitted she was embarrassed by her performance in the first set, saying she had played about as badly as she could have.
In the second set, Kuznetsova began to awaken and find her stride. While the match went steadily back and forth, Chakvetadze stuttered a bit, and Kuznetsova regained some control over her game. Falling into a split to return a ball, she managed not only to get it in but to recover in time to return again and win the point.
Up 5-1 in the second, Kuznetsova was now fully on the offensive, and the pace of the match picked up, as she won the next game to send the match into a third set.
With the temperature in the mid-80s (and higher on the court) with not a cloud in the sky, the umpire alerted the players and the crowd that the heat rule was in effect, and the players received a 10-minute break before the start of the third set.
Coming back out, Kuznetsova continued to put pressure on her 20-year-old opponent. As Kuznetsova broke to go up 3-1, Chakvetadze was clearly distraught and looked to be in tears.
When Kuznetsova took a 4-1 lead, she finally flashed the first smile of the match and, looking toward her family box, clenched her fist and nodded her head. Her opponent could not summon the strength to make a comeback, and Kuznetsova served out the set, sending herself to the USfinal for the second time in her career.
The 2004 USchampion next faces either Justine Henin, who won the UStitle in 2003, or Venus Williams, the 2000 and 2001 winner, for the 2007 women’s title.