Former world No.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova progressed to the third round at Australian Open 2011, ousting qualifier Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 6-1 6-4 on Wednesday. The Dutch youngster struggled with her serve early on in windy conditions on Show Court 2, serving a double fault on the first point of the opening game. Another double fault during the game did not help the world No.139 as she failed to hold serve, gifting Kuznetsova a break with a long forehand.
But Kuznetsova did little to maintain the break of serve, handing the next game to Rus by dumping a backhand into the net. The two-time major champion was fast to reply breaking Rus for a 2-1 lead with an unreturnable backhand. Kuznetsova was now in complete control, outgunning her less experienced opponent. She clinched a double break enroute to securing the first set in 31 minutes as Rus hit a backhand wide.
Rus, making her main draw debut at the Open, threw everything she had at Kuznetsova in the second set, breaking the 25-year-old Russian in the first game before advancing to a 2-0 lead. With a small crowd of Dutch followers urging her on, Rus kept up with Kuznetsova rallying with her more than in the previous set. Games went on serve until Kuznetsova applied pressure on the Dutchwoman’s serve and gained the break back to level proceedings at 3-3.
A single break of serve was all Kuznetsova needed to wrap up the 77-minute victory after Rus miss-hit a forehand down the line. Kuznetsova, a two-time quarterfinalist at Melbourne Park, will next meet 2010 runner-up Justine Henin who cruised past Brit Elena Baltacha earlier today.
