Svetlana Kuznetsova, world # 6, and two time majors singles champion, has opened her title defense at Roland Garros with a victory in a very tough first round match against up and coming Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, # 34 in the world, 6-3, 6-1 in 72 minutes. Kuznetsova, an unlikely champion last year, benefitted from the complete meltdown of #1 seed, Dinara Safina, who literally could not keep the ball in play, and played through tears, losing her second straight final at Roland Garros.
Kuznetsova, with only 3 clay court matches under her belt this season, two if which were losses, should be relieved she survived Cirstea, a natural clay courter. Check out the match stats of any match, any many other cool features at http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/index.html.
| Kuznetsova (RUS) | Cirstea (ROU) | |||
| 1st Serve % | 30 of 50 = 60 % | 43 of 63 = 68 % | ||
| Aces | 2 | 2 | ||
| Double Faults | 1 | 1 | ||
| Unforced Errors | 16 | 10 | ||
| Winning % on 1st Serve | 23 of 30 = 77 % | 21 of 43 = 49 % | ||
| Winning % on 2nd Serve | 9 of 19 = 47 % | 10 of 19 = 53 % | ||
| Winners (Including Service) | 14 | 10 | ||
| Receiving Points Won | 32 of 63 = 51 % | 18 of 50 = 36 % | ||
| Break Point Conversions | 5 of 10 = 50 % | 1 of 5 = 20 % | ||
| Net Approaches | 7 of 8 = 88 % | 10 of 13 = 77 % | ||
| Total Points Won | 64 | 49 | ||
| Fastest Serve Speed | 182 KMH | 177 KMH | ||
| Average 1st Serve Speed | 156 KMH | 158 KMH | ||
| Average 2nd Serve Speed | 123 KMH | 136 KMH | ||
Kuznetsova’s sharp return of serve was the difference. She won more than half of the points while returning serve.
–Crack (http://crackbillionair.wordpress.com)
