Sunday 24 January 2010
Nadia Petrova
When the draw for the Australian Open was made, many experts excitedly anticipated a potential match up between Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin in what was viewed as a Belgian quarter. Few picked Nadia Petrova, the 27-year-old Russian, to reach the quarterfinals.
But a new Nadia Petrova has surfaced at this year’s Australian Open, where she produced her second upset victory to enter the quarterfinals and share the spotlight that usually shines on other Russian players.
Petrova beat French Open champion and compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Sunday, continuing a surprise run that sent U.S. Open champion Clijsters home after a stunning 6-0, 6-1 defeat in the third round.
Petrova’s win made her the first Russian into the quarters, where she will be joined by at least one and possibly two more.
Maria Kirilenko advanced to the quarterfinals after fellow Russian and No. 2-seeded Dinara Safina retired from their fourth-round match with an apparent leg or back injury and limped off the court. Safina was facing set point, trailing 4-5 and serving at 30-40 when she withdrew.
Petrova has equaled her best run at the Australian Open by reaching the last eight. She’s never gone further than the semifinals at a major.
She attributes some of her resurgence to the fighting spirit of Russian players.
“There’s a lot of competition between us,” said the No. 19-seeded Petrova. “There’s a lot of us, obviously … Everyone of us wants to be the No. 1 in our country.”
She ended Clijsters’ chances of back-to-back major titles in 52 minutes.
“When I played Kim, before going on court, I said ‘It’s all or nothing. I’ve got to give everything.’ And I did,” Petrova said Sunday. “Same thing happened today. If I can continue doing this, I can get even further.”
On paper Sunday’s match looked close. Petrova had 25 winners compared with Kuznetsova’s 22, and 47 unforced errors against Kuznetsova’s 55.
But Petrova held her nerve, while Kuznetsova let frustration get the best of her.
“I was doing too many unforced errors. I didn’t serve good. I was just struggling to find my game,” Kuznetsova said. “I lost confidence, I was very frustrated.”
“Definitely she’s getting confidence and she’s playing at her best level that I’ve seen her at lately,” Kuznetsova added. “You have to play well if you beat Kim 6-love, 6-1.”
As a young player, Petrova looked set to become a star with her big serve and solid groundstrokes
In 2003, she reached the semifinals at Roland Garros, knocking off Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati on the way.
But she was upstaged in 2004 by other Russians. Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon that year, Anastasia Myskina won the French Open, and Kuznetsova took home the trophy at the U.S. Open.
Petrova has played the Australian Open 10 previous times, making her best showing in 2006 when she reached the quarters. Her best Grand Slam results have come at the French Open where she reached the semifinals in 2003 and 2005.
Petrova had a disappointing start to this year, losing in the first round at both Brisbane—to Henin—and Sydney.
But now, Petrova says her game is the best it’s been in years—and much of it is mental.
“I’m working hard and digging deep, because I know there’s still a lot to accomplish,” she said. “I really want to finally be a complete player. I want to quit tennis knowing that I’ve done everything possible, that I developed as mush as I could and I gave 100 percent.”
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