Kuznetsova survives scare to advance in Pacific Life Open
Kuznetsova knows compatriot Maria Sharapova will be the player to beat in Indian Wells
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Sunday, 16, Mar 2008 09:43
World number three Svetlana Kuznetsova battled to a 6-1 4-6 6-3 win over Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in the third round of the Pacific Life Open.
The Russian, who was runner up in Indian Wells last year, came from a set down to seal victory in one hour and 48 minutes.
Kuznetsova made an explosive start and used her powerful returns to break Cibulkova in game two and six to win the opening set.
But the 22-year-old second seed lost her radar in the second set, overhitting a series of groundstrokes. She was broken in the second and fourth games to trail 5-0.
Kuznetsova found her rhythm again to reduce her deficit to 4-5, but her opponent broke again in game ten to win the set and force a decider.
The 2004 US Open champion, a runner-up this year in Sydney and Dubai, cranked up the tempo in the third set and broke twice to seal victory.
Kuznetsova will face Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in the next round.
The 17-year-old, who won the Wimbledon juniors' title in 2006, thumped Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-0 6-2 in just 53 minutes to book her place in the fourth round.