Kuznetsova Upsets Pennetta

Svetlana Kuznetsova grabbed her second Grand Slam title in Paris and then finished 2009 so strongly that she started 2010 the third ranked player on tour and with high expectations. What should have been a dream-come-true year has turned into a nightmare for the powerful Russian.

Svetlana’s play at spiffy La Costa Resort & Spa has been her most consistent effort of the year. On Saturday she dismantled Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, the fifth seed, 6-4, 6-0. The win continued the Russian’s dominance over the Italian. Svetlana has now won all four matches between the two.

Nothing has come easily to Kuznetsova this season. Usually a reliable seed, Svetlana began to lose to underdogs at the beginning of the season and has not stopped until now. The Russian has fallen out of the top ten and it has been a steep slide.

At 3-3 in the first set, Kuznetsova put the full court press on Pennetta, who efficiently dismissed top seed Samantha Stosur on Friday by serving brilliantly and attacking the serve. On Saturday, Pennetta was firing blanks as her serve was unreliable and her returns worked to Kuznetsova’s advantage.

Svetlana, a former U.S. Open Champion, mixed her powerful forehand with heavy spin and a steady two-handed backhand that had Pennetta moving laterally across the court. On Saturday, it was Kuznetsova who seemed the stronger, more aggressive player.

Sunday will be her 31st career final. She has won 12 ATP events. Three of those titles were on the hardcourt.

Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska may be seeded fourth but she may well be the underdog on Sunday. The book on Kuznetsova is that her conditioning has gone soft and if she is pressed, she may fall apart. Ironically, this is the first finals for both players since they met in the finals at Beijing where Svetlana won. This will be their tenth career meeting with the Russian enjoying a 6-3 cushion.

Radwanska made it look easy on Saturday against upstart Daniela Hantuchova. Hantuchova was unable to mount a rally as she did against Marion Bartioli and fell quietly 6-4, 6-2.

Against Hantuchova, Radwanska captured the first break in the seventh game and then served out the set. The Pole landed 81 percent of her first serves in the first set.

Hantuchova gained her first break in the second game of the second set but Radwanska stepped up the pressure and managed three straight breaks of her own to go up 5-1. The Pole faced ten break points in the seventh game before she managed to hold, but it was too little too late.

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