Kuznetsova Wastes No Time
Monday, June 20, 2005
US Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia gained a rapid 6-0, 6-1 first
round victory over the British wild card entry, Rebecca Llewellyn, on Court
18.
Kuznetsova crashed out of The Championships in the first round last year
against Virginie Razzano of France but there was no chance of a similar fate
against the 19-year-old from South Wales.
Kuznetsova, also 19 and seeded fifth for this year's Championships, needed
just 42 minutes to complete a victory that puts her confidently on course for
the projected quarter-final clash with top-seeded Lindsay Davenport.
Court conditions were perfect for Kuznetsova's hard hitting game and she
quickly took command against Llewellyn whose recent match play included a
victory in a futures tournament in Oxford.
Llewellyn had little chance to settle into the match because Kuznetsova
launched a hard-striking attack from the opening point. The British girl
found herself beaten for pace and position. Lllewellyn gave herself and the
crowd a boost by holding four break points in the third game but Kuznetsova
dealt with these threats.
As the world's 434th-ranked player, Llewellyn always knew the going would be
tough. Her Russian opponent drove on relentlessly to win the first set
without the loss of a game and took the first three games of the second set
before Llewellyn won her only game. That feat did nothing to disturb the
outcome, with Kuznetsova winning the next three games to take the match.
Kuznetsova provided ample evidence that she was ready for Wimbledon and
showed she had erased last year's bad memories. This is her third appearance
in The Championships. Two years ago she was one of five Russian players in
the last 16 and defeated last year's Champion, Maria Sharapova, then a wild
card, to reach the quarter-finals where she fell to Justine Henin-Hardenne.
Kuznetsova beat fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in last year's US Open final,
having stopped Davenport in the semi-finals. This year Kuznetsova followed up
a fourth round appearance in the French Open by making the semi-finals on
grass at Eastbourne, a tournament she won last year.
Written by Barry Newcombe
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