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Mauresmo, Kuzy Into Beijing Final
Posted on September 24, 2006
BEIJING, China -- Their local favorite may have lost in the semifinals, but Chinese tennis fans will be treated to a Grand Slam-worthy final on Sunday, as world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo takes on No.2 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova at the $600,000 China Open.
With both Top 5 women having competed in major finals this year -- Mauresmo claiming the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Kuznetsova finishing runner-up at Roland Garros -- the 2006 Beijing final is set to be one of the highest quality matches in the China Open's short history.
In the first semifinal, Kuznetsova, last week's Bali champion, advanced to her second final in a fortnight with a crushing, 60 62 win over Chinese wildcard Peng Shuai in 51 minutes.
"I played smart today," said Kuznetsova, who broke Peng's serve six times and extended her win streak to seven matches. "Peng didn't play well; I think she is a little bit tired, but I am physically good. In the first set, I tried to make her move, and made some drop shots."
World No.5 Kuznetsova has enjoyed one of her best-ever seasons, reaching the quarterfinals or better at 15 of 18 events contested this year, winning two titles and reaching the Roland Garros final. The last time Kuznetsova reached consecutive finals was two years ago, when she won the US Open and Bali and finished runner-up here in Beijing.
"Last year, I had a problem with consistency," observed Kuznetsova. "Sometimes I play well, sometimes I don't; I just play my best and focus on the match. I'm [ranked] No.5 now, and I would like to improve to No.4 or higher by the end of this year. I would like to accumulate experience and become mature. I'm in good form now."
In fact, should Kuznetsova win in Sunday's final, she will return to that career-high ranking of No.4 for the first time since August 2005.
But trying to stop Kuznetsova will be a formidable opponent, albeit one of the Russian's friends on Tour. Mauresmo endured two hours, 41 minutes of nail-biting but at times scrappy tennis against No.6 seed and recent US Open semifinalist Jelena Jankovic. The Frenchwoman, playing in her first China Open, advanced to her sixth final of 2006 with a 61 36 76(3) win.
"She played well in this summer," said Mauresmo of Jankovic, whom she predicts could reach the Top 5 in the next six to 12 months. "I won the first set easily, but she played great in the second; it was surprising. Both of us didn't serve well today."
"It was really tough for me," said a dejected Jankovic. "I played the No.1 player in the world and we played almost three hours. I was struggling physically. I was really tired, but I stuck to the end.
"The thing that really let me down was my serve today; it was terrible. If I could have served a little better, I could have won, because I broke her so many times (six). I played my best, but unfortunately I lost. What could I say? I hoped I had a second chance."
A candid Jankovic admitted she was lucky even to have reached the third set.
"I think she should've won in two sets today. In the second set, there was a time when I started playing better, and found my rhythm. My serve was terrible, especially when I was tired. I need to get stronger. I'm still young and I have room for improvements.
"I was so tired that I almost collapsed. Then my mother came and said you should have stayed calmer and you should change your behavior. I think I express my emotions too much, and should focus more on the game."
"I hope I can physically recover after tonight," added Mauresmo. "I'm looking forward to the match tomorrow; it is the last match in the China Open, so I will give all I have and play my best."
Mauresmo, winner of four Tour titles this year (second only to Justine Henin-Hardenne's five) owns a 4-2 lifetime advantage against Kuznetsova, but the 21-year-old Russian has won both their encounters this year, in the Dubai quarterfinals and Miami semifinals.
"It will be tough, but it's good to play against top players," said Kuznetsova. "[Mauresmo] plays with variety of tennis; it is interesting to play against her."
"She is a good player," said Mauresmo of Kuznetsova. "She plays defense well, she is very aggressive, and she serves pretty well. She performed well in Bali and China Open this week. It will be tough tomorrow."
The doubles final will feature one of the greatest doubles teams of all-time against Russian upstarts Anna Chakvetadze and Elena Vesnina. Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez reached their fourth final of 2006 and the 50th of their career as a team with a 64 62 win over Emma Laine or Finland and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
Chakvetadze and Vesnina, by contrast, are playing only their 10th tournament together ever; the Roland Garros quarterfinalists upset No.4 seeds Marion Bartoli and Gisela Dulko, 63 67(6) 63.
-- WTA
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