Svetlana Kuznetsova enjoys St. Pete revisit: Wins opener over Brady

     It didn't even take two hours before Svetlana Kuznetsova had claimed victory over American Jennifer Brady ranked No. 52 in their first meeting of their careers. Kuznetsova had missed two years of the Russian tournament due to injuries but her last memories of making the quarterfinals in 2017 were comforting and inspirational to come out and do well.

     She came into the event with a few positives that tended to get her over the aggressive Brady in the opening round. She entered with a wildcard and a heavy resume of 18 singles, 16 doubles crowns and 2 grand slam titles. Teh fight was gritty and determined but despite Kuznetsova missing a few years of the event with injuries, she put on a good performance that helped her capture the opening round victory.

     The Russian was never low on energy and determination as she led 5-2 in the first set with Brady coming up with a few corner stingers to get only one extra game. Kuznetsova was overpowering and won the opening set 6-3. The second set the Russian was defiant and slammed a winner in the backhand court as she already led 3-0 in games. Brady cleverly hit the corners in the court to a surprised Kuznetsova to get one game on the scoreboard. But it was the Russian, who felt self-assured and opened up the court to blasting winning shots which capped off her opening round victory in straight sets of 6-3, 6-1. She had talked to the wtatennis media giving credit to her opponent saying "Brady came out playing really aggressive. I just tried to stay focused, playing every ball..." But Svetlana Kuznetsova was just glad to be back saying "It's amazing to play in my hometown. I'm really happy and pleased, I tried my best."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2SlBbAR