Vera Zvonareva caused the biggest sensation of the Moscow Kremlin Cup. She saw off third seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round.
Photo: Ilya Pitalev
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Zvonareva Crushes Compatriots
Maria Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva advanced to the quarter-finals at the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament held in Moscow Olympic Stadium Wednesday. For this purpose, Zvonareva saw off one of the tournament’s favorites Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia. As to the men’s news, Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Kunitsyn advanced to the last eight as well.
Russia’s Vera Zvonareva posted a sensational win over third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova (6-1 6-3) in the second round of the Kremlin Cup Wednesday. Kuznetsova, for whom the previous month was very successful, could do nothing at the Kremlin Cup to stand against her compatriot, who was playing her usual game yesterday, i.e. was powerful but lacked variety.
"It was my worst match this season," Kuznetsova said, explaining the failure by inability to adjust to the fast surface. In the quarter-finals, Zvonareva will play another Russian – either Elena Likhovtseva or Nadia Petrova. Fifth seed Nadia Petrova beat Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany (6-2 6-2).
For Russian Maria Sharapova, yesterday was the first appearance on the court after the U.S. Open triumph. Sharapova overwhelmed another Russian Elena Bychkova (6-4 7-5) in a tough battle to advance to the quarter-finals. Her next opponent will be either Anna Chakvetadze or Francesca Schiavone.
In the men’s section, Nikolay Davydenko was the first to secure a place in the last eight, once he easily beat his compatriot Teimuraz Gabashvili (6-4 6-2). Another Russian, Igor Kunitsyn advanced to the quarter-finals as well.
But the hero of the recent Davis Cup semi-finals, the second seeded Dmitry Tursunov unexpectedly yielded to Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine. Before yesterday, Stakhovsky played just five official matches this season, having lost all of them.
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All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 12, 2006
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