Back from knee surgey in 2013, Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova is poised for a comeback. One of the lesser known staples of women's professional tennis today. Svetlana has two grand slam singles to her credit (US Open 2004, Roland Garros 2009) and two grand slam doubles titles as well (Aussie Open 2005, Aussie Open 2012). She is one of the best athletes on tour. She plays three draws many tournaments: singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Kuznetsova comes from a family of Olympic caliber cyclists. Her father is a successful olympic coach. Her mother is a 6 time world champion and owns 20 world records. Her brother was a silver medalist in the Olympics. Svetlana is the only one is the family who decided to be a tennis player.
Playing Style
Svetlana Kuznetzova is an all court player. Raised on clay court tennis with the genes of cyclists, she is able to withstand harsh conditions and grinding points without showing much fatigue. She has a strong arsenal of shots. Due to her playing so many different types of tennis, all her skills are always match ready. She is strong all over. So she is a deceptively graceful mover and she can hit the ball very hard. Her serve is not as good as other top ten players. Her main game is grinding baseline dominance.
Why She Wins
Kuzie can win in many different ways. She can overpower her opponent, she can out finesse them, and she can outlast them. Because her energy is limitless, she can play on autopilot at a high level until it is time to win. Her pattern consists of hitting the ball where ever her opponent is not. She is slightly stronger with her forehand but is still a real threat from either side.
Why She Loses
Svetlana has a mental side where she stops playing well all of the sudden. If she does not organize this brain cramp well, she can have trouble thinking through big points. Most all court players have a brain cramp and then counterpunch balls with more consistency until their brain is rested. Svetlana starts hitting the ball harder and flatter. So a match can get away from her very quickly before she can start thinking again.
Svetlana Kuznetsova is a great player to cheer for. She can beat anyone in the world...if she feels like it. She is just emotional enough to be interesting...but not so much that it's alarming. She has tremendous talent...at times. Its bitter sweet. Its a seesaw. Its Svetlana Kuznetsova
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