Svetlana Kuznetsova may have survived four match points against Andrea Petkovic in the second round of the French Open, but the defending champion was not as lucky in the next round and fell on the third match point by fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko.
The sixth-seeded Kuznetsova had a point for a 3-0 lead in the third set, but seed No.30 Kirilenko won four games in a row. Kuznetsova then had a chance to level at 5-5, but that was not to happen as Kirilenko held her nerve and recorded one of the best wins of her career to finish the match 6-3 2-6 6-4 and reach the fourth round of the French Open for the first time.
“I mean, it was very hard to defend my title with the tennis I have been playing this season,” said Kuznetsova, who also lost to Kirilenko in the second round of Rome earlier this month.
Kirilenko’s opponent in the fourth round will be Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, seeded 17th. (source: Reuters, photo: Ralf Reinecke)
woooowwwwwwuhahahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. i was just reading your blog and it refreshed itself and i saw this new post! anyway, maria Kirilenko is on fire these days, she is very capable of making the top 10. The Maria vs justine match is today, however its the last match which means i’ll probably have to stay awake till 4 am 🙁
I also noticed their is 3 australians still in the main draw – how exciting (i think thats a first for a looooooooooooooong time!!)
Great job Maria! Though it annoys me that she always plays amazing against the top players and then loses to lower ranked players. And she got engaged to Igor Andreev I heard! Can’t wait for Justine!
Maria should show much more consistency and her career would be amazing. Of course, it’s easier said than done.
Lilly, engaged? Really?
That’s what I’ve heard on Roland Garros radio, but that’s probably just gossip. Though they’ve been going out for a while, huh? And Murray’s back with his girlfriend too. All according to the radio!
Lilly, yes, they’ve been dating for a long time. We’ll see. They could be engaged, why not.