The all-Russian clash today between seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and tenth seed Anastasia Myskina ended with Kuznetsova securing a berth in the Italian Open’s quarterfinals.
Kuznetsova, who is currently ranked tenth in the world, swept past Myskina in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.
Myskina became the first Russian woman to win a Grand Slam tennis title in 2004 when she hoisted the trophy at Roland Garros. Since then, her results on court have mediocre as it appears that she has lost the form that led her to the win at the French Open. She made history in 2005 when she became the first defending champion in Roland Garros history to lose in the opening round and has only won one Tier III singles tournament in the previous two years.
Kuznetsova’s career has some similarities to Myskina. She won the U.S. Open title in 2004, only months after Myskina and Maria Sharapova’s win at Wimbledon. She too made an unwelcome addition to the history books when she became the first defending champion in the Open era to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open in 2005.
Unlike Myskina, Kuznetsova has appeared to shake whatever demons she had on her back off and has stormed back to the tennis tour in 2006. She won the title at the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open in April, after defeating Martina Hingis, Patty Schnyder, Amelie Mauresmo, and Maria Sharapova in the final. She is back in the top ten and has reached the quarterfinals or higher in each of her events this season, except for the Australian Open where she lost to Lindsay Davenport in the round of sixteen.
Svetlana Kuznetsova will face Italian qualifier Romina Oprandi in the quarterfinals.
