Player of the week: Svetlana Kuznetsova

Despite being one of the best players on clay nowadays, Svetlana Kuznetsova captured her first title on clay two months ago in Stuttgart. She had previously lost up to 6 finals on clay. The most important one on 2006, when she was defeated by Justine Henin in the final of French Open. But last week, in the same scenario, Roland Garros, she showed that she has learnt from the past and took the most important title on clay.


Along with Dinara Safina, she was one of the top contenders for the title according to the results on the clay season. They were finalists in Stuttgart (victory for Kuznetsova) and Rome (victory for Safina) and Safina was also champion in Madrid. Kuznetsova advanced to the Last-16 round with ease, dropping no more than 4 games on each match. But there things got more complicated, and she needed three sets to defeat 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the Last-16 round, 2nd seed Serena Williams in the quarters in a specially though match, and surprising Samantha Stosur in the semis. The expected final against Safina was set up, although Kuznetsova didn't seem so strong. But a Grand Slam final is different, and the one who better deals with the pressure is the one who wins. And that was Kuznetsova, who was extremely focused and relaxed while Safina was anxious willing to finally win a Grand Slam title.


There was no big celebration by Kuznetsova in respect to Safina, who was completely desperate. This is one example of why Sveta is one of the most appreciated players on WTA Tour. With two Grand Slam titles already, Svetlana's next goal has to be the #1 in the rankings. If she is able to handle the pressure as she did in last week's final, she will surely be a contender.