Sports / Tennis |
Kuznetsova, Vaidisova into fourth round at Indian Wells(Reuters)Updated: 2007-03-13 14:46 Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and number six Nicole Vaidisova moved swiftly into the Pacific Life Open fourth round on March 12. Russian Kuznetsova held off a late charge by her fellow countrywoman Elena Likhovtseva to win 6-1 7-6, and Czech Vaidisova advanced when American Ahsha Rolle retired due to illness trailing 6-3 4-1. Fourth seed Nadia Petrova overcame American Laura Granville 4-6 6-3 6-0 and will next play number 13 Tatiana Golovin of France, a 6-2 6-0 winner over Australian Samantha Stosur. Ninth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina was upset 6-4 6-3 by Marion Bartoli of France. After reaching the final in Dubai, Kuznetsova controlled the match against her former Fed Cup team mate Likhovtseva, who made a succession of early unforced errors. Likhovtseva worked her way back into the match in the second set but Kuznetsova rediscovered her self-belief in the tiebreak. "It was hard for me to play her because she's one of the best match players on the tour," Kuznetsova told reporters. "At the start I was very confused and she looked like she couldn't put the ball in. Then she started to play better. In the important moments, I started playing well." Former U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova started the year poorly because of a bout of bronchitis and only entered the tournament at the last minute. "It's about just consistent work and being on the court and just doing the right thing all the time," she said. "Because I think I have got the game." The 17-year-old Vaidisova reached her second career grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open in January and is seeded to reach the quarter-finals at Indian Wells. At 6-feet-tall and with booming groundstrokes, the six-times tour winner is still seeking her first Tier One title and faces Bartoli in the fourth round. "I've played pretty well," she said. "I'm gonna mix it up a little bit. I just really like playing here. It's a fun tournament, so it always gets you more excited." Tenth-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic also moved on, destroying Australia's Alicia Molik 6-2 6-1 to set up a meeting with Austrian Sybille Bammer, a 6-3 6-3 winner over China's Shuai Peng. Top seed Maria Sharapova faces fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva on Tuesday. |
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