MELBOURNE: Svetlana Kuznetsova insisted on Saturday she doesn't care about the lack of attention she gets despite being a top 10 player as she continued her steady progress at the Australian Open.
The eighth seed is the forgotten Russian at this year's Australian Open, with most of the column inches devoted to Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva.
However, she won the US Open in 2004, beating Dementieva in the final, and has been in the top 10 for the last three years so cannot be discounted for the title. "I don't care about the (lack of) attention," she said.
"Before maybe I was thinking about it but now, no, I don't care. In the end what is important is the result." The 23-year-old from St Petersburg ensured a place in the fourth round when she downed Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
She survived three set points in the first set tie-break to clinch the set then broke Bondarenko early in the next set to take out a tense clash. "It was tough but I think I did the right things," Kuznetsova said. "I tried to play to my serve and wait for her mistakes, and she was waiting for my mistakes. Sometimes I went for too much and I made too many unforced errors."
Kuznetsova said saving the set points in the first set had been crucial. "It was great, I was just looking to fight for every point and that is what I did," she said.
The Russian next meets China's Zheng Jie, who beat Bondarenko's sister Kateryna 6-2, 6-2, and must be favoured to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the first time since 2005.
"Zheng's tough -- I've never lost to her but I know she's very confident now and she's playing better," Kuznetsova said.
"She's very dangerous. I think I have to be very focussed. She plays very flat and she moves well."
Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kuznetsova_continues_steady_progress/articleshow/4025568.cms
The eighth seed is the forgotten Russian at this year's Australian Open, with most of the column inches devoted to Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva.
However, she won the US Open in 2004, beating Dementieva in the final, and has been in the top 10 for the last three years so cannot be discounted for the title. "I don't care about the (lack of) attention," she said.
"Before maybe I was thinking about it but now, no, I don't care. In the end what is important is the result." The 23-year-old from St Petersburg ensured a place in the fourth round when she downed Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
She survived three set points in the first set tie-break to clinch the set then broke Bondarenko early in the next set to take out a tense clash. "It was tough but I think I did the right things," Kuznetsova said. "I tried to play to my serve and wait for her mistakes, and she was waiting for my mistakes. Sometimes I went for too much and I made too many unforced errors."
Kuznetsova said saving the set points in the first set had been crucial. "It was great, I was just looking to fight for every point and that is what I did," she said.
The Russian next meets China's Zheng Jie, who beat Bondarenko's sister Kateryna 6-2, 6-2, and must be favoured to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the first time since 2005.
"Zheng's tough -- I've never lost to her but I know she's very confident now and she's playing better," Kuznetsova said.
"She's very dangerous. I think I have to be very focussed. She plays very flat and she moves well."
Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kuznetsova_continues_steady_progress/articleshow/4025568.cms
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