Two-time Grand Slam winner, Svetlana Kuznetsova upset Danish 10th seed and former-world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in a close 3-set match, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in the 2013 Australian Open.
Kuznetsova was forced to miss a big portion of the 2012 tennis season because of a right knee injury, spending two months on crutches, and had dropped in the rankings to No. 75. She is now the lowest ranked player left in the tournament. Her injury caused her so miss all post-Wimbledon events last year including the US Open, which ended her streak of 40 straight Grand Slam appearances dating back to 2001 at Flushing Meadow. It appears her knee has healed well, and she is coming back with a vengeance.
After the match, Kuznetsova said: “I’m really happy with the result because in the second set I got stuck a bit. But I came out fighting in the third, and it’s great. After 10 years of travelling I was getting tired,” she added about her time on the tour. “But I’m feeling fresh again and very happy to be in the quarter-finals because I struggled last year.”
However, it was Wozniacki who struggled on Monday. Her preparations for Melbourne were hurt by getting beat out early at both the Brisbane and Sydney International tournaments, and her play was just not good enough to get her through this match.
Kuznetsova was the Grand Slam champion at the 2004 US Open and the 2009 French Open. She will next face No. 1 seed, Victoria Azarenka in the Quarterfinals on Monday. Azarenka had an easy win over No. 47 ranked Elena Vesnina.
In other 4th round action, No. 3 seed Serena Williams demolished No. 14 seed, Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-0 and will now face No. 29 seed Sloane Stephens who defeated No. 56 ranked Bojana Javanovski in a tight 3-setter, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5. Serena has been tough on her opponents, losing only eight games through the first four rounds.
