Kuznetsova storms into third round at U.S. Open

Aug 27, 2008 - 7:59 PM By Carl Dispoto PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Four years after winning her only Grand Slam title here, Svetlana Kuznetsova still recognizes the U.S. Open as a special tournament.

"I come to every Grand Slam, but here you feel special, like I've made it here," she said. "I really can do it and I've done it here. ... I don't know how to explain it. I just play much more confident."

Kuztnesova's confidence was on display late as she rebounded from a tough first set to advance to the third round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 victory over unseeded challenger Sorana Cirstea of Romania.

The third-seeded Kuznetsova lost to Justine Henin in the final here in 2007 and has worked hard to get through the first two rounds this year, outlasting Cirstea in a back-and-forth first set.

"I don't think you should be coming into a Grand Slam playing the first matches the best you got," she said. "I want to grow every day playing better and better. I played better than my first match, so it's looking good. Definitely I'm not in my best shape right now."

Cirstea - the 53rd ranked player in the world - broke serve in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. But Kuznetsova rallied, eventually getting back on serve before overwhelming her 18-year-old opponent in the tie-break.

The players traded mini-breaks to start the tiebreaker before Kuznetsova took the next five points to take a commanding lead. Cirstea made one last gasp by taking the next two points on serve before the veteran Russian finished the set.

"When I was in a danger situation, I just realized I had to go to the forehand," Kuznetsova said. "I started to play better and move her around a little bit more. And the second set, I just started to be so much more confident in my game."

Kuznetsova was in complete control thereafter, dropping only one game in a second set that took just 26 minutes. Her intensity was evident as she increasingly pressed Cirstea, converting eight of 10 points played at the net in the second set.

Kuznetsova next will face 28th seed Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia and is always considered a potential champion at the U.S. Open after a number of strong showings here.

However, the 23-year-old Kuznetsova has also experienced disappointment here, losing in the first round while defending her title in 2005. It was the only time in the event's history a defending champion had failed to win an opening round match.

"I remember (2005) and it makes me go harder and harder," she said. "If I remember good things, it keeps me even more positive and gives me more anger to play. Now, I have much more experience and even at my worst I can win matches if I stay tough."

Kuznetsova's biggest challenge to a title - as with the rest of the women's draw - may be an immensely deep field that includes four former No. 1 players.

"It's very unpredictable," she said. "It's tough for every top player because everybody has a real good chance to win it. For a player, you want to see that yourself or someone else always has a chance to be No. 1, knowing that if you do a good job you can be there. It's a funny situation, but it's interesting for everybody."