CARLSBAD — Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia turned up the heat in the second set to beat fifth seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy, 6-4, 6-0, in the Mercury Insurance Open semifinals match on Aug. 7.
“In the second set I worked hard,” Kuznetsova said. “I have a lot to go to get to my good level.”
Despite the win, Kuznetsova saw room for improvement in her overall performance. “I think I should have played better in the first set,” Kuznetsova said. “Not letting her (Pennetta) dictate the game.”
While the match was close in the first set, Kuznetsova dominated the second set for the win. “I got better and I’m happy about it,” Kuznetsova said. “I made it my way.”
Pennetta faults herself for not delivering a stronger serve. “My serve really didn’t work today,” Pennetta said. “I could not get in the corner with my first ball.”
Pennetta has yet to win a match against Kuznetsova. “She has more power than me,” Pennetta said. “After the first set she was more aggressive. In the second set she pushed harder every ball.”
While some observers moaned about a lack of star power at the open due to the absence of Serena and Venus Williams, both Kuznetsova and Pennetta had plenty of fans in the courtside crowd.
Pennetta received a lot of crowd encouragement during the game. “There are a lot of Italian people here,” Pennetta said. “You can find Italian people wherever you go.”
“Kuznetsova is a wonderful player,” Lou Yergad of Carlsbad said. “She’s nailing those lines. She has so much experience.”
Kuznetsova beat out Coco Vandeweghe of California, Sara Errani of Italy and Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium to get to the semifinal match. She said there is no formula to her win. Each opponent brought a very different game to the court. “You have to adjust each day, each game,” Kuznetsova said.
Kuznetsova went on to win the open and defeat fourth seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, in the final match 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3, on Aug. 8.
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