Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova collected her second title in
two weeks after thrashing world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France
6-4, 6-0 at the China Open yesterday in Beijing.
Travelling from Indonesia where she won her third Bali title,
the Russian world No. 5 did not let fatigue get to her, dominating
the rain-interrupted title match by winning 10 games in a row.
It was her second final appearance at the China Open, after
losing to Serena Williams in the inaugural event two years ago. Her
victory allows Kuznetsova to leapfrog Kim Clijsters and return to
her career high No. 4 in the world rankings.
"I was very close last time and I am so glad that I made it,"
said Kuznetsova.
A highly competitive final match was expected between the pair
as both have enjoyed excellent seasons so far. Mauresmo collected
titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and reached the
semi-finals of the US Open while Kuznetsova was the losing finalist
at the French Open.
Mauresmo, holding a 4-2 record in their meetings before the
match, gained an upper hand with an early break in the third game
before going 4-2 up. Kuznetsova broke back in the eighth to level
the score before the rain started.
"I am happy I was able to break back before the rain," the
Russian said.
When the two came back to court after almost two hours, Mauresmo
seemed to lose all rhythm against a robust Kuznetsova, who
delivered lethal smashes from every corner.
Mauresmo was then broken four times in a row before she putting
a backhand return out on match-point.
"It was not her day. She is not at her best and I really played
well," Kuznetsova said.
"It does not always happen like that. She did not play her best
but I just contributed to it."
The crowd was behind Mauresmo, just as they cheered on Serena
Williams in the 2004 final. However, the Russian 2004 US Open
winner said she has gotten used to a slight lack of support.
"Something happened to me," she said. "It's a little bit hard
(to play like this) but I have found the way to motivate
myself."
Kuznetsova said she was eager to defeat Mauresmo, once her
doubles partner, but did not want to get carried away.
"She is a very good friend of mine," she said. "I don't want to
have a big smile on my face but I think I have found the right way
to play against her."
Asked about the world number one spot, Kuznetsova seemed sure
that should she keep playing well, she would achieve this goal but
that she was not obsessed with it.
Mauresmo was playing her sixth final of the season, and had won
the last five. A marathon semi-final victory over Serb Jelena
Jankovic on Saturday apparently tired her out going into the
final.
"I was a little bit tired after yesterday's match," she said.
"She probably felt better than me after the long delay by rain but
it's not an excuse."
She shrugged off the defeat despite being the world's top
player. "You cannot win all the time," she said. "Sometimes you
lose, just like Roger Federer."
Svetlana
Kuznetsova
Amelie
Mauresmo
In the women's doubles final held earlier yesterday, Virginia
Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez defeated Russia's Anna Chakvetadze
and Elena Vesnina to win the title.
The tournament was a disappointment for China's doubles pairs,
including Grand Slam winners Zheng Jie and Yan Zi, who all bowed
out before the semi-finals.
However, Peng Shuai stole the home plaudits with a run to the
semi finals, where she lost to Kuznetsova.
(China Daily September 25, 2006)
