Kuznetsova: On the Way (Back) To The Top?
Svetlana Kuznetsova won her first title since 2007 beating current Number One, Dinara Safina in the final on indoor red clay in Stuttgart, Germany at the Porsche Grand Prix. For the 2004 U.S. Open winner, the victory was a sweet one since Kuznetsova had lost her last 6 finals (i.e. to Justine Henin, Elena Dementieva, Ana Ivanovic, Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic) and four times in a row to Safina in 2008. It’s been a bit of a bumpy road for
Kuznetsova since she won the 2004 U.S. Open and reached Number Two in 2007. Svetlana has changed coaches a couple times in the past year and also moved back to Russia from Spain. For Kuznetsova, who is aiming to reach the Number One ranking (her highest ranking has been number two) and add to her lone Grand Slam title so far, the title bodes well for her chances at the upcoming French Open. Svetlana has always had the game to win more Grand Slam titles, but she has not played her best tennis at the important moments in major matches during the past few years. Confidence and the strong results that stem from it, seems to come and go for many of the women fighting for the top ranking right now, i.e. Jankovic, Safina, Ivanovic, Serena and Venus Williams. The next couple weeks of clay court tennis leading up to the French Open will highlight which players have found their form going into the 2009 French Open. Svetlana Kuznetsova has proved she has the tennis talent to beat all the top players and win major titles. If Kuznetsova can retain the confident play she showed at Stuttgart, then she has to like her chances on the red clay at Roland Garros.
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