“In the second set, third set I was pushing myself to fight, and still she was break up. With her it’s a big difference. She started to serve great, and I’m very proud that I pushed myself and I could fight in the third set. “This gave me victory, because I fought until the end.” Kuznetsova, the only player to beat world number one Dinara Safina on clay this season, broke Serena twice at the start to leap into a 3-0 lead.
The American turned on the power to snatch a break back and levelled for 5-5 with a backhand that wrong-footed Kuznetsova. Put under huge pressure by Serena’s devastating forehand, the Russian lost her composure and faced a set point in the 12th game. She saved it with a crosscourt smash and forced a tiebreak with a forehand down the line. Kuznetsova got a double mini-break for 4-1 courtesy of a jaw-dropping service return winner and a backhand down the line and she sealed the tiebreak 7-3 with a forehand winner.
The Russian kept her momentum, moving 3-0 up in the second set after Serena netted a forehand in the second game to hand her opponent a break. At 4-2 and 40-30 Kuznetsova twisted her right ankle as she fell and after wiping off the red dirt, the Russian allowed Serena back into the match by conceding a break. Serena broke again to lead 6-5 when Kuznetsova netted a backhand and levelled the contest with an ace.
The 2004 U.S. Open champion was off the pace at the start of the third set, letting Williams take a 3-1 lead but she broke back in the sixth game. “Honestly I think I lost because of me and not because of anything she did,” Serena told reporters. “In the third I had an opportunity and I got really tight, and I pretty much gave it to her. It was like, Here, do you want to go to the semis? Because I don’t. She was like, Okay.” Kuznetsova wasted two match points in the 10th game with two long forehands but she converted her third chance on her opponent’s serve when Serena sent a backhand wide.
1 comment:
Serena did a wonderful job getting to the Quaterfinal. Being injured and have no match preparation, that's an excellent run. Take good care Serena. Better luck next time.
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