It must have felt nice (and different) to get a straight-forward straight-set win for a change, but the ninja made her work for it. Sveta has started 2011 with some great matches but not the best results. But in all of these matches she's unveiled Sveta 2.0, a more focused, more positive, fitter, and smartly aggressive Svetlana Kuznetsova. It has been a revelation and I've loved every minute of it.
Sveta's got Flavia next. She absolutely cruised over Kleybs, 62 60. So a great run for Flavia, who once again showed how important Fed Cup is to her career. She was the savior in Hobart against Australia. And here she is in the semifinals of a Premier 5.
But it's gotta end at some point. I'm rooting for Sveta to take the tournament. But as a few pointed out on Twitter, her legs have got to be tired from all the three setters this week *and* the doubles with Vera. That said, Flavia's hobbled on that left foot, which caused her to withdraw from doubles here in Dubai (though, word is that she'll ascend to #1 in doubles on Monday).
So let's play the match and see. But go get it, Sveta 2.0! This reboot has been awesome!
(Pic: Reuters)
