Kuznetsova defeats Zuluaga in two sets 6-4, 6-1.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian Top Ten player that does not come from Moscow but from Saint Petersburg and currently ranked No.5 on the WTA Tour rank defeats No.25 Zuluaga in two sets in 62 minutes.

In the first set 19-years-old Kuznetsova took a little more time to show who is the better player at the moment. In the second set it was very clear that there is a big difference between being ranked #5 or #25. Both players have five WTA tour titles on their list. This year the player from Saint Petersburg won three out the five titles, Eastbourne, Bali and her first Grand Slam title at the US Open. Fabiola Zuluaga won the title in Bogotá this year.

It is Kuznetsova’s first appearance in the main draw, last year she lost to Raymond in the first round of qualifying. For Zuluaga (age 25) this was the second time for her entering the main draw reaching the first round, after qualifying, last year and losing to Bovina. 

Svetlana Kuznetsova, who trains at the Casal/Sanchez Tennis Academy in Spain, will meet worlds No.1 Amelie Mauresmo of France in the semifinal on Saturday.

The third one who reached the semifinal for Saturday was American Lindsay Davenport who defeated Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Montenegro. The 28-year-old Davenport is in good shape and pulling out the best results since a long time. Currently ranked at No.2 of the WTA ranking she is able to take back the spot she once called her own, taking it away from Amelie Mauresmo being at No.1.

The 19-years-old Jelena Jankovic who is coming from the qualifiers is making a very good debut at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Jankovic who won one WTA title in Budapest this year is making progress and beating big names like Nadia Petrova and Daniela Hantuchova. Lindsay Davenport, owner of 44 WTA tour titles including 6 this year alone is just a name too big at the moment.

In the first set winning did not come easy for Davenport, “Not playing last week I wasn’t ready to hit the points. I was hoping to take advantage of her being tired after playing many matches. I hope next match will be better for me,” she said after the match.

“She is playing very well and she is having a good tournament, she hits the balls hard”, she added about her opponent after taking the match 6-4, 6-3. This was the second time both players met each other in a match, the last meeting was in Charleston were Davenport took the match 7-5, 6-3 in the second round. Davenport now leads 2-0 in the head-to-head.