Maria Sharapova extended her winning streak over Svetlana Kuznetsova at the WTA Tour Championships to 3-0 after defeating the current world No. 2 in three sets on Thursday.
This was the third career meeting between the two former US Open winners at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s most prestigious event. Today was the first time that Kuznetsova pushed Sharapova into three sets, but the losing outcome was the same for Kuznetsova each time.
Both players started well in the opening set, exchanging breaks before Kuznetsova finally closed it out 7-5. Sharapova then stepped up the level of her game, kept Kuznetsova pinned behind the baseline, and served out the win on her first match point 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
Sharapova will play Ana Ivanovic in her final round robin match on Friday, with Kuznetsova scheduled to play Daniela Hantuchova.
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[...] Maria Sharapova d. Svetlana Kuznetsova Justine Henin d. Marion Bartoli Anna Chakvetadze d. Jelena Jankovic [...]