Petrova Edges Kuzy, v Golovin in Stuttgart Final
Posted on October 8, 2006STUTTGART, Germany -- Nadia Petrova continued to revive her season but must now battle one of her greatest nemeses, Tatiana Golovin, after the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix championship match was set on Saturday.
Petrova recorded her best victory since a title run at Berlin in May in her semifinal match, snapping the 10-match win streak of Svetlana Kuznetsova, 62 16 64. She played bold, aggressive tennis against her equally-powerful countrywoman, but after splitting two streaky sets was just a little bit more opportune towards the closing stages, breaking in the last game to clinch the win.
"I didn't expect to win today," said Petrova, who turned the tables on an 0-2 head-to-head to notch her 300th career singles match win. "I played very well in the first set and that's when I got the feeling that I could win today. In the second, there was nothing I could do, as Sveta played perfectly. At 4-all in the third anyone could have won, but I hung in there and I'm very happy."
Petrova, seeded No.4 this week, is now through to her first final since May, having won only three matches in her last eight events coming into Stuttgart. She now sets her sights on a fifth title of the year, having already claimed championship trophies at Doha, Amelia Island, Charleston and Berlin.
"It feels like such a long time since I was in a final but I'm looking forward to playing someone I've never beaten before," said Petrova, who is 0-3 against Golovin."I'm trying to go on the court not expecting so much, and enjoying it. Hopefully the past few months are behind me, and I can look forward again."
Kuznetsova, who was the No.2 seed here, was coming off consecutive title runs at Bali and Beijing.
Golovin, unseeded, reached her first Tier II final with a lengthy 61 57 75 win over No.5 seed Patty Schnyder. Golovin took it to Schnyder with flat forehands and impressive serving, notching her first victory in three meetings with the crafty left-hander.
"We were both fighting so hard in the end and I'm proud to finish it the way I did," Golovin said. "I learned my lesson in our previous matches. I had a good game plan going in. I didn't want to have her forehand bother my backhand, so I focused my plan of attack onto her backhand instead. I started well, and think it took her a while to get into the match, which she did in the middle of the second set, and it was a tough fight all the way after that."
"I'm very excited to be in my third singles final and I'm going to give it everything I've got tomorrow."
Golovin now has seven career Top 10 victories, three of which have come over Petrova. The French teenager stopped the Russian in straight sets at Charleston last year, then won tight three-setters at Paris [Indoors] in February of this year and just a few weeks ago at the US Open.
The two highest-ranked teams will do battle for the doubles title. Top seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur advanced to the final when unseeded Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Gabriela Navratilova handed them a walkover, due to a low back injury suffered by Hradecka. No.2 seeds Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs beat out No.3-seeded pair Dinara Safina and Katarina Srebotnik, 64 64.
-- WTA
Petrova recorded her best victory since a title run at Berlin in May in her semifinal match, snapping the 10-match win streak of Svetlana Kuznetsova, 62 16 64. She played bold, aggressive tennis against her equally-powerful countrywoman, but after splitting two streaky sets was just a little bit more opportune towards the closing stages, breaking in the last game to clinch the win.
"I didn't expect to win today," said Petrova, who turned the tables on an 0-2 head-to-head to notch her 300th career singles match win. "I played very well in the first set and that's when I got the feeling that I could win today. In the second, there was nothing I could do, as Sveta played perfectly. At 4-all in the third anyone could have won, but I hung in there and I'm very happy."
Petrova, seeded No.4 this week, is now through to her first final since May, having won only three matches in her last eight events coming into Stuttgart. She now sets her sights on a fifth title of the year, having already claimed championship trophies at Doha, Amelia Island, Charleston and Berlin.
"It feels like such a long time since I was in a final but I'm looking forward to playing someone I've never beaten before," said Petrova, who is 0-3 against Golovin."I'm trying to go on the court not expecting so much, and enjoying it. Hopefully the past few months are behind me, and I can look forward again."
Kuznetsova, who was the No.2 seed here, was coming off consecutive title runs at Bali and Beijing.
Golovin, unseeded, reached her first Tier II final with a lengthy 61 57 75 win over No.5 seed Patty Schnyder. Golovin took it to Schnyder with flat forehands and impressive serving, notching her first victory in three meetings with the crafty left-hander.
"We were both fighting so hard in the end and I'm proud to finish it the way I did," Golovin said. "I learned my lesson in our previous matches. I had a good game plan going in. I didn't want to have her forehand bother my backhand, so I focused my plan of attack onto her backhand instead. I started well, and think it took her a while to get into the match, which she did in the middle of the second set, and it was a tough fight all the way after that."
"I'm very excited to be in my third singles final and I'm going to give it everything I've got tomorrow."
Golovin now has seven career Top 10 victories, three of which have come over Petrova. The French teenager stopped the Russian in straight sets at Charleston last year, then won tight three-setters at Paris [Indoors] in February of this year and just a few weeks ago at the US Open.
The two highest-ranked teams will do battle for the doubles title. Top seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur advanced to the final when unseeded Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Gabriela Navratilova handed them a walkover, due to a low back injury suffered by Hradecka. No.2 seeds Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs beat out No.3-seeded pair Dinara Safina and Katarina Srebotnik, 64 64.
-- WTA