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SET FOR AUCKLAND

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva will take part in the ASB Classic tennis tournament which is going to be played from 31st of December to 5th of January at Auckland.

Kuznetsova had participated in this tournament in the last season as well and had performed quite well.  She had reached the semi finals.

On the other hand, Zvonareva hadn’t taken part in this tournament in the last season. But, she has performed well in this competition in the past. She had reached the final of this tournament in 2006 and 2007.

Confirming her participation in the tournament, Kuznetsova said, “It’s a great warm up tournament before the first Grand Slam of the year. I had performed well when I was here last time around, but, unfortunately, I hadn’t managed to win the title. Hopefully, I would go all the way through this time around and would start the season with a title win.”

On the other hand, Zvonareva said, “I have played here in the past and I enjoyed a lot playing here. My record here has also been quite good. I am looking forward to this year’s tournament.”

Apart from Kuznetsova and Zvonareva, some other quality players who are going to participate in this tournament are Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, Julia Goerges of Germany, Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan, Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium and Zheng Jie of China.

The director of the tournament Karl Budge was also present in the press conference. He said, “We want the standard of tennis in this tournament to be pretty high and that can happen only if some quality players participate in this tournament. We have been trying very hard for this and we are delighted that we have managed to sign quite a few top ranked players.”

STARTING 2013 IN AUCKLAND

Svetlana Kuznetsova will start the new season by taking part in the ASB Classic tournament which is going to be played at Auckland in January next year.

Kuznetsova didn’t perform up to her potential in the last season. She played well in patches, but, she looked out of sorts in most part of the season. The Russian player would definitely like to perform more consistently in the upcoming season.

Confirming her participation in the ASB Classic, Kuznetsova said, “I am glad to inform you all that I am going to start the new season by participating in the ASB Classic as I had done in the last season as well.”

“The last season didn’t go according to the plan and things went awfully wrong for me at times. But, I want to put all that out of my system now and just want to concentrate on the upcoming new season.”

“The ASB Classic would be the first tournament of the season for me, so, I would try my best to win it. When you win the opening tournament of the season, it sets the tempo for you. A good start of the season is very important.”

When asked whether she is fully fit at the moment or she still has a few niggles, Kuznetsova said, “I am 100% fit at the moment and I hope to remain fit throughout the next season. I struggled quite a lot with injuries in the last season which affected my form as well. When you start getting injured frequently, you tend to lose your confidence as well.”

When asked about her goals in the upcoming season, Kuznetsova said, “I have set the target of winning a couple of Grand Slams in the next season. It would be quite tough, but, I am backing myself to do it.”

RUSSIA LOSING OUT

Svetlana Kuznetsova’s countrywoman, Ekaterina Makarova, has been defeated by Polona Hercog in the second round of the China Open. Hercog won the match by 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(3). It was the third match between these two players and Hercog defeated Makarova for the first time.

The match went on for two hours and 48 minutes and two out of three sets went into the tie breaker.

In the opening set, Hercog got a breakthrough in the second game and she was ahead by 3-0 at the end of the third game. But, Makarova made a comeback and won four out of the next five games to level the scores. The next four games went with the serve and the set went into the tie breaker. In the tie breaker, the Slovenian player played slightly better than Makarova and won the first set.

In the second set, Makarova started brilliantly and broke Hercog’s service in the second game to get ahead by 2-0. She maintained the lead till the end of the set and sealed the second set by 6-3.

In the final set, Makarova was ahead by 5-2 at one point of time. But, all of a sudden, she lost the momentum. Her service was broken twice in the next five games and the scores were tied at 6-6 at the end of the 12th game. The set was extended into the tie breaker again. Makarova didn’t manage to hold her nerves and lost the tie breaker again.

After winning the match, Hercog said, “It was a very close contest and I am delighted that I end up on the winning side. The pressure was huge in the tie breaker of the final set. Fortunately, I made a good start in the tie breaker and pulled off the victory.”

In the third round, Hercog will take on Maria Sharapova. When asked about that match, Hercog said, “Sharapova is in fantastic form at the moment and it will be very tough for me to go past her. I am looking forward to that match. Hopefully, I would put up a special performance on Thursday.”

On the other hand, Makarova was gutted with her performance. The Russian player said, “It certainly hurts if you lose the tie breaker in the final set of the match. I am hugely disappointed at the moment. Hercog soaked up the pressure better than me and that’s why, she won.”