She may have lost her quarterfinal clash with world number 1, Victoria Azarenka, but during the fortnight Svetlana Kuznetsova produced a vintage display to announce her return to top form, following a knee injury that forced her to miss the second half of 2012. In just her third tournament back, Sveta equalled her best showing at the Australian Open, where she has been a quarterfinalist twice before, in 2005 and 2009.
"After a long break, not such a long preparation, I did quite well I think," declared the rejuvenated Russian. "In the important moments I just knew I had to go one ball at a time, and just try to do my best. It's amazing. It's my best result. I have been to the quarterfinals here two times, so I'm just kind of replaying that."
Kuznetsova experienced quite a good run Down Under, battling through qualies in Sydney before stunning Julia Goerges and Caroline Wozniacki en route to the last eight. The Dane was her victim again in Melbourne, as Sveta put forward some of her best tennis to overcome her opponent's stiff resistance, 6-2,2-6,7-5 in their fourth round encounter. "If you asked me before coming to Australia if I would be in the quarterfinals, I would say - well I would laugh, definitely. I wouldn't be so sure about it," she said.
Asked about her love for the game and the tough recovery months that followed her surgery, she declared: "I never thought of stopping tennis," the Russian explained. "I was just laying in bed, and I was thanking my knee so at least I could rest. When the knee was sore it was so annoying to walk with the crutches all day long. I went to Thailand, I went to Bali, on the beach with crutches, all day long, and I had blisters on my hands. That was the most annoying thing, then doing the recovery afterwards too. But anyway, I had time at home and refreshed my mind, and I just knew that I want to play this game. I always loved it, but I wanted to have this desire to bring me back. That's what happened."
Even though she's currently ranked at no.75 in the world, the Russian is no stranger to Grand Slam success. She became the first Russian to win the US Open in 2004, before collecting a second trophy at Roland Garros in 2009. In Melbourne, she gave defending champion a run for her money, rising to a 4-1 lead in the first set. Azarenka got back into the match though and won the tight opener, before cruising through victory in the second act.
Although she bowed out of the tournament, Kuznetsova remains positive for the rest of the season: "It's a very good result for my first Grand Slam tournament back. I played a lot of matches in Sydney, and played quite good matches here too, and that's all I needed. I feel like I have game. I can play. But I need to improve my fitness, my consistency, my serve - there's a lot. And then we'll see where I can be at."
Although she bowed out of the tournament, Kuznetsova remains positive for the rest of the season: "It's a very good result for my first Grand Slam tournament back. I played a lot of matches in Sydney, and played quite good matches here too, and that's all I needed. I feel like I have game. I can play. But I need to improve my fitness, my consistency, my serve - there's a lot. And then we'll see where I can be at."
photo: GETTY IMAGES
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