Hingis Falters in Breaker at WTA MiamiPosted on March 27, 2006 While it wasn't an upset by the numbers, No. 12 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova nonetheless played the role of underdog Sunday in edging No. 24 seed Martina Hingis 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(9) to advance into the fourth round at the NASDAQ-100 in Miami.
Looking exhausted by the second set as the scampering Hingis repeatedly made her hit that extra ball to earn the point, Kuznetsova gained revenge for a loss in Doha earlier this year in their first-ever meeting. Hingis chose to use a video replay challenge on match point after her forehand sailed wide. "Well, you can always have hopes, right?" a smiling Hingis told reporters after the match. "I thought it might be out, but it was a very close call, so maybe something happens. There is always wonders. But I knew it was out. She was laughing, I was laughing, so she deserved it, she earned it. I made a mistake and that's it, end of the story." All six of the Top 10-seeded players advanced Sunday in (1) Amelie Mauresmo (d. (30) Bartoli, bagel in the second), (4) Maria Sharapova (d. Camerin), (5) Nadia Petrova (d. Jackson, double bagel after dropping the first), (6) Elena Dementieva (d. Krajicek 0-and-1), (7) Patty Schnyder (d. (28) Srebotnik), and (10) Anastasia Myskina (d. Azarenka). "I'm aware that Kim and Justine are out, but I'm really focusing on myself and what I have to do," Mauresmo said. Upsets on the day were dealt by Greece's Eleni Daniilidou, ousting (13) Daniela Hantuchova in three sets; China's Jie Zheng, felling (16) Anna-Lena Groenefeld; and American Jill Craybas with another seeded scalp, downing (27) Klara Koukalova. Marquee matches to watch for on Monday's schedule are (4) Maria Sharapova vs. (20) Maria Kirilenko in an all-Maria all-Russian meeting, (1) Amelie Mauresmo vs. (14) Ana Ivanovic, and (12) Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. (7) Patty Schnyder. |
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