Svetlana Kuznetsova def Daniela Hantuchova 3-6 6-1 7-5

Sveta :worship:

14 aces to go with it :hearts: She blew 6 BPs in the third before breaking at 5-5 though. :mad:

Sveta :banana:

Sveta :woohoo:

Sveta :bounce: :bounce:

However there is lot room for improvement, because Hantuchova was able to push it into three sets.

:sad: sad for Dani!
Congrats for Sveta

well done Sveta :yeah:

holy crap what a tight finish...17 BP's Kuzzie had for the match, 14 saved.

Dani :sad: :sobbing: :bigcry:

You fought so hard, saved so many BP's, even in the 3rd set when you had no chances on Cowzzie's serve, you still had 3 BP's, but you needed some extra luck to get those points :crying2: It's tough to play against someone who had such a great serve day, credits to her tho!

I'm sure you'll still beat her! :yeah: ;)

Now have fun on the doubles and do your best in Doha! :D :kiss:

I think Cowzzie will be a tough cookie for Momo... :scratch:

:yeah:

bravo Sveta :woohoo:

Momo will have a tough challenge next match :unsure:

Sveta :woohoo:
so happy for her :yeah:
Daniella :sad:

Is sumthing wrong with Sveta's serve..14 aces by her?? OMG
How come she served so well today r was it sumbody serving for her..LOL

Whew Sveta! Glad you came out of it alive.

Well done Svatlana :D
Amelie-Sveta QF :unsure:

Sveta :worship: Love ya babe :kiss:

Svetlana!!! :woohoo:

Sveta :banana:

Unlucky Dani !!!!!!!!

Better luck next time.

Best of luck Sveta against Momo

Mark

Daniela :sad:

dani :(

Daniela! :sad:

Congrats, Sveta! ;)

Sveta has homework to do before the next match.Good luck ;)!

:sad: for Daniela. Thought she'd win this match :sad:

Dani :sad: seems you put up a good fight though

Good try Danka. :hug:

Svetlana :)

Sveta has homework to do before the next match.Good luck ;)!
Been on the match. Yes Sveta has some homework to do, and she got to it right after the match on a practice court.

The match was Sveta's, it was evident. She controled almost everything. In some games and parts of set she was the brilliant invinsible powerhitter, in another she was a power-hitter who got tense and missed every 3rd shot, and then a power-hitter somewhere in between. But I think she can improve, she's alright.

Daniela, was... not very good most of the time. She was never completely free with her shots. She was visibly tense. Missed somewhat a lot of her shots, although from time to time she did well handling the pressure from Kuznetsova.

BUT, as i said, it was Kuznetsova's play that was deciding everything.

damn Daniela.. :sad:
sooooo close yet so far :sobbing:

Sveta :banana: seems like ur getting on track, good luck against Momo.
Dani :sad: bad draw

Sveta has to get steadier to beat players like Amelie.

Dani :sad: :sad:

Congrats Sveta! :D

Daniela :hug: was actually surprised she got the first set...good luck in your next tournament! ;)

Nice one sveta :)

Daniela, how can you lose to that?

great battle from the 2!!!!

Is sumthing wrong with Sveta's serve..14 aces by her?? OMG
How come she served so well today r was it sumbody serving for her..LOL
Sveta always had good serve..Good placement and kick... :smash: :smash: :smash: No reason to be surprised..She can hit aces if shes on...

Sveta :woohoo:

close match! GL with Mauresmo next round!!!

Daniela :smash: :(

congrats svetlana!!!!!!

Well done Svets great fighting victory good luck against Amelie

Daniela so so close :bigcry: Ah well have fun in the dubbs...

Dani. :sad:

Daniela. :sad: :sobbing:

Danka. :sad: Very close, you should still be proud. Sveta is a great player. ;) :lol:

Have fun in Doha!

:banana:

this sucks! :(

Sveta :hearts: :hearts: :hearts:

soo close Dani... :sad:

well done sveta! :-)

my little fighter!

:sobbing: :tears: :sad: nuff said

I'm improving each day: Kuznetsova



By Alaric Gomes, Staff Reporter


Dubai: Former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova is happy that she has matured as a player.

"I have been discovering so many things about myself," Kuznetsova said after blasting past German Martina Muller 6-2, 6-0 in under one hour in the opening round of the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open here on Tuesday.

Yesterday, the Russian overcame Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 to enter the third.

"The most important thing is that I'm improving each day," Kuznetsova said.

No smooth transition

The transition has not been all that smooth as an all-time career-high of No 4 in 2004 was followed by a disappointing 2005 season. This included a straight-sets defeat against India's Sania Mirza in the second round here last year.

"I am happy that the hard work put in is showing off," Kuznetsova said.

"I could not have asked for anything better than this."

If 2004 was the highpoint, the following year was an all-time low. But it was also a learning curve for the Russian who practices in Spain with former ATP player Emilio Sanchez.

After a disappointing latter half of 2005, Kuznetsova proved she had not lost the form that brought her a Grand Slam title and a top-5 ranking.

She has been among the better players this season and the best she has come up till now is the semifinals at the Medibank International last month in Australia. She rode on that form to make it to the last-eight stage of the Australian Open.

"When you are mature, you start thinking about your game and your approach to life. You analyse much more and get to know your worth," she remarked. "But it is not the same when you are just starting off."

Happy hunting ground

Dubai has been a happy hunting ground for the Russian. Last year, she shrugged her second-round loss in the singles to end runners-up along with Alicia Molik in the doubles. Year before, she had reached the singles final where she lost to Amelie Mauresmo.

"I love this place, it motivates me so much. There are so many Russians here that it seems like Russia," she said.

Daniela, how can you lose to that?
how can she lose to THAT??i tell you:because THAT is a world class player,who just had a very bad period last year,and is now again showing her true class!so much for THAT..

P:S:everybody has a name...got something to do with respect...thx