Third seed Kuznetsova crashes out of US Open
Saturday, 30 Aug 2008 12:44
Kuznetsova is another seed to exit the tournament early
Former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has crashed out of the US Open after she was defeated 6-3 6-7 (1/7) 6-3 by Katarina Srebotnik.
The Russian third seed joins world number one Ana Ivanovic as another top seeded player to depart the women's tournament.
Srebotnik served well throughout the match and was able to forge ahead when she broke Kuznetsova in the first set.
The two players could not be separated in the second set and the Russian showed signs of a comeback as she won the tie-break in comprehensive fashion.
However, the Slovenian held her nerve, and her serve, to beat Kuznetsova and claim a place in the fourth round.
Kuznetova summed up the defeat saying: "I didn't play badly, she just played her best game."
Serbian Jelena Jankovic remains the highest ranked player in the women's draw after she beat China's Zheng Jie 7-5 7-5.
The second seed forced 11 deuces in the 12th game of the second set and eventually managed to win on her fifth match point.
Another former champion now out of the competition is American Lindsay Davenport. She lost to 12th seed Marion Bartoli of France 6-1 7-6 (6/3).
The 32-year-old has yet to decide her future in the game following the defeat.
She said: "It's tough to make any kind of decision in a rash moment. There was no decision made before the tournament and I don't think it's time to make a certain statement now."