Svetlana Kuznetsova - Australian Open Women's Tennis
Players
Probably
one of the best-loved women's tennis players on the circuit today, Svetalana
Kuznetsova is the current world no.2. She has toppled Maria Sharapova as the no.1 Russian player on the tour. She enjoys
interacting with her fans and the media during her matches, which is pretty
unusual for top professional tennis players.
In her 7seven years as a professional, Sveta has only once claimed a Grand Slam win, and that was in 2004 at the US Open. She defeated compatriot Elena Dementieva in straight sets in an all-Russian final. She has, however, consistently gotten into the later rounds of all four Grand Slam events:
- Quarterfinals of the Australian Open - 2005
- Finals of the French Open - 2006
- Quarterfinals at Wimbledon - 2003, 2005 & 2007
In 2005 she suffered an ignominious defeat at the US Open. She became the first female defending champion in recent history to lose in the first round - to Ekaterina Bychkova!
At the 2006 French Open, Kuznetsova defeated 17-year-old Czech, Nicole Vaidisova, but was then hammered in the final by Justine Henin-Hardenne in two sets 6-4, 6-4. At Wimbledon she lost in the third round to Li Na, and at the US Open, she lost to Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round.
Although she did not play at all the Grand Slam tournaments in 2007, she still managed to improve her WTA rankings to no.2. At Wimbledon, she reached the semifinals with apparent ease, but was then taken out by the no.26 seed and three-time champion, Serena Williams who is sure to feature among this year's Australian Open women's tennis players.
She faired slightly better in the 2007 US Open, reaching the finals after a relative breeze through the earlier rounds. Her opponent, however, was the feisty Belgian, Justine Henin and she easily subdued the Russian in two sets 6-1, 6-3 to win the title.
Svetlana Kuznetsova is an Australian Open women's tennis player of enormous potential. Can the Russian finally get the better of Henin and take her second Grand Slam title? She can be sure that she will have the crowd behind her, so anything is possible. For tennis betting, we recommend William Hill.
