Kuznetsova eyes another tilt at the top

Kuznetsova eyes another tilt at the top

Two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova – a surprise semi-finalist at this year’s Qatar Total Open is seemingly ready for another tilt at a top-10 position, after a series of highs and lows over the past four years.

The Russian dropped to World No. 107 at the end of 2018 and further slipped to 198 last year after missing the Citi Open in Washington, courtesy of a delayed visa.

But a steady run since then has helped her crack the top-50 which she aims to improve further as the season progresses.

Kuznetsova, winner of the 2009 French Open and the 2004 US Open has not given up on adding another Grand Slam titles to her collection.

“Of course, why not?, the 34-year Russian said in response to a question as to whether she is aiming to win another Grand Slam title.

“They always told me I'm black horse, so I can still be black horse. I always been, when I won French, when I with won US Open, why not?, you never know” she added.

She said the level of the women tennis has gone up and she too has raised the bar.

“The level is tremendously high, I know I am capable of beating top 10 players, but I need to get better. I see things to improve, I already improved a lot from my past years. The level of the game raised a lot and it made me improve my game, because with the level I used to play, with the game strategy I couldn't be winning many matches now. Still, I need to get some things up, “

The World No. 46 Kuznetsova has appeared in four Grand Slam singles finals, winning two, and she has also appeared in seven doubles finals, winning twice. As a doubles player, Kuznetsova has reached the finals of each Grand Slam event at least once, winning the Australian Open twice.               

She said that the competition is very close in the tournaments then it was five or six years back.

“ I always said this, that now it's the level is raised a lot and it's very hard. Like sometimes I say it's no players who really kind of maintain their level, like no first round losses, there is not many players like that. But it's because that tennis is very high level for me right now and it's very competitive sport, we're getting better and better, so that's great for the game.

Born to an athletic family, Kuznetsova moved at the age of seven to Spain to attend the Sanchez-Casal Academy. In 2001, she first took part in a WTA tournament, the Madrid Open, and a year later won her first WTA title at the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Helsinki, Finland. Her first appearance in a Grand Slam tournament was at the 2002 Australian Open and her first Grand Slam title came at the 2004 US Open over countrywoman Elena Dementieva, making her the third Russian woman to win a Grand Slam title, after Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova.