Former champion Kuznetsova enters US Open main draw as Cibulkova withdraws
2004 US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova received a spot in the main draw of the US Open after a left foot injury caused Dominika Cibulkova to withdraw from the last Grand Slam of the year.
Kuznetsova’s luck turned around after a wobbling start on the American courts. Dominika Cibulkova, a player who hasn’t played since her French Open first-round defeat against Sabalenka, accused a left foot injury and was forced to withdraw from Flushing Meadows.
Svetlana will be hunting for points in the remaining US hard court swing after she missed the Washington Open - a tournament she won last year -, due to visa issues. The problems were solved just in time for her to play Toronto and hit the 1/8 finals where she was defeated by the Wimbledon champion herself, Simona Halep. Kuznetsova posted on Instagram about her finally solved visa problems with the message: "Better later than never”.
The Russian player is no stranger to the American Grand Slam which she won in 2004. That is 15 years ago, a time when Dementieva, another Russian player, managed to dig her way up to the final and bow down after Svetlana’s 6/3, 7/5 victory.
However, Svetlana is now 34 years old and stands on 153rd place in the WTA ranking. She failed to impress in the last couple of years, but she shouldn’t be underestimated. After all, she is a veteran of the tour and her skills brought her two singles Grand Slams – US Open in 2004 and French Open in 2009 -, two doubles Grand Slams – Australian Open in 2005 and 2012 -, and four other major doubles finals.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2z0BmY0
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