By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, March 31, 2016
A stubborn Svetlana Kuznetsova staved off 12 of 14 break points beating Timea Bacsinszky, 7-5, 6-3, to return to the Miami Open final.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy
Her pink headband was saturated with sweat, but Svetlana Kuznetsova was too busy managing break-point stress to notice.
A stubborn Kuznetsova staved off 12 of 14 break points grinding down Timea Bacsinszky, 7-5, 6-3, to advance to the Miami Open final for the first time since 2006.
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A decade after Kuznetsova defeated Maria Sharapova to capture the 2006 Miami crown, she will face either Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber or two-time Miami champion Victoria Azarenka in Saturday's final.
It wasn't easy, it wasn't always pretty and it looked pretty punishing, but Kuznetsova persevered through it all to reach her second final of the season.
On a hot day, the 19th-ranked Russian was drained by four consecutive three-setters—including comeback wins over world No. 1 Serena Williams in the fourth round and Ekaterina Makarova in the quarterfinals—but battled with grit and grunt against the tricky Swiss baseliner.
"Happy that I could hang in there and never let me hands down," Kuznetsova told ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez in her on-court interview. "I have not been feeling my best, but I've been fighting for every ball trying to fight as much as I could. I was praying to finish it in two sets so I have a little bit time to rest. I really tried to enjoy the game even though I wasn't feeling my shots I had to fight— this is what tennis is all about."
Both women can alter the spins on their shots and both spent the early stages maneuvering the ball to set up their kill shots: Kuznetsova's topspin forehand and Bacsinszky's versatile two-handed backhand.
The two-time Grand Slam champion earned break point in the eighth game. Kuznetsova hit a heavy topspin forehand approach to set up the mid-court forehand, but missed the mark.
Squandering a 40-15 lead, Kuznetsova netted a forehand to face a break point. Grunting louder, she attacked to save it. Kuznetsova snapped a bounce smash then slid an ace out wide withstanding the pressure to hold for 5-4.
In the 12th game, Bacsinszky earned double break point. She sailed a return long on the first. During the ensuing scrambling point, Kuznetsova cracked a running backhand strike down the line to save the second break point.
By the time Kuznetsova held for 6-5, she'd staved off all five break points she faced.
Bacsinszky caught the baseline with a forehand, but believing the shot would sail, relaxed a bit then netted a backhand to face set point. On the ensuing 16-shot rally, the Russian came forward and tapped a forehand volley into the open court scoring the lone break to take a one-set lead.
Bacsinszky left the court to change clothes. When she returned they traded breaks to start the second set.
Pacing a bit more slowly between points, Kuznetsova appeared to be tiring when she faced triple break point in the third game. Rousing herself, she fought off all three then held plastering a terrific running forehand down the line for 2-1.
The 2006 champion stretched the lead to 3-1 before Bacsinszky broke back. Undeterred, Kuznetsova targeted her opponent's weaker forehand to break again—the fifth break in the first six games of the second set—for 4-2.
All-court skills helped the Sydney champion close. Unleashing her first serve-and-volley of the day, Kuznetsova lifted an exquisite half-volley winner off the sideline. It was a sensational shot that drew applause from Bacsinszky and helped Kuznetsova hold for 5-2.
Serving for a return trip to the final, Kuznetsova fought off three more break points. Smacking an ace down the T for match point, Kuznetsova blasted a backhand crosscourt to seal a demanding one hour, 56-minute victory.
A decade ago, Kuznetsova warded off six dangerous opponents—Vera Zvonareva, Martina Hingis, Patty Schnyder, Ai Sugiyama, No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo and Sharapova—to take the title. She'll have to beat a fellow Grand Slam champion to regain the crown.
Kuznetsova has won four of seven meetings with Kerber, including a three-set triumph in Miami last March, and has split eight career meetings with the red-hot Azarenka, though they have not squared off since the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals.