Soaring No. 2 Kuznetsova worships the Fed

Sveta: “Roger is like a god to me.”

FROM THE ZURICH OPEN – In a year where all the talk has been about the resurgence of the Williams sisters, the increasing supremacy of Justine Henin, the rise of the Serbs and Maria Sharapova’s right shoulder, one woman has made quiet progress through the rankings and finds herself sitting at No.2 after a very stellar season. Svetlana Kuznetsova reached the US Open final and led Russia to a third Fed Cup win in four years. She was also the only player in 2007 to get a win over Henin on clay.

Despite her rise to the second position in the rankings, not many experts have been singing Kuznetsova’s praises. The Russian doesn’t mind that all the talk is about other players. “It’s okay,” she said. “I only want to be myself and enjoy myself.”

Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals or better in 16 out of the 19 tournaments she has played this year. She retired in the first round in Sydney and lost in the round of 16 at the Australian Open and Miami. This consistency has been the key for her current career high ranking. But the reason Kuzy has been flying under the radar, is because in the big matches she came up short. Her only title of the season came at New Haven, where she triumphed after seeing three consecutive opponents retire. She lost in the finals of Doha (to Henin), Indian Wells (to Daniela Hantuchova), Berlin (to Ana Ivanovic) and Rome (to Jelena Jankovic). In the US Open final, she was no match for Henin.

For a No.2 player, those results are hardly impressive, and the Russian knows it. “I played pretty good this year, but I am not happy with some of the important matches I lost. I was consistent and reached my career high ranking of No.2, but I hope to do better next year. I feel like I was not at my best this season.” What it is she is aiming for in 2008? “It would be perfect to win all the Grand Slams and the Olympic Games, but I wouldn’t have any goals left anymore. I would quit tennis straight away (laughs).”

Kuznetsova has a solid game, but even if she has no real weakness, she doesn’t have a true weapon either. Her heavy top spin shots make her a legitimate contender on clay, but on the faster surfaces, even if she has won a US Open title in 2003 and reached the final in New York this season, she’ll have to improve her attacking game to be considered among the top favorites at the Slams outside of Paris.

Kuznetsova sounded confident when she said she believes she can be the No.1 player someday, but a few minutes later stated that she finds it hard to always be fully motivated for a match. That doesn’t sound like something Justine would say.

It was during the US Open that Martina Navratilova called Henin the Roger Federer of the women’s game. The Belgian has not lost a match since her shocking semifinal exit to Marion Bartoli at Wimbledon, and only dropped three matches the entire season. Kuznetsova admits Henin is currently the best player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, but she can’t look at her the way she sees Federer. “Roger is like a god to me,” she said. “I respect him so much. I respect Henin too, she has had better results than me, but I can’t see her like a god, because she is my rival, and otherwise I would have no chance to beat her anymore.”

Contrary to her Belgian rival, Kuznetsova is a big fan of the Olympics. She’d prefer a Gold Medal over a Slam win, next year in Beijing. “The Olympics are more important for me because they are held only once in every four years, and Grand Slams are every year and there are four. The Olympics are very special, because you are also representing your country.” Unfortunately for Sveta, there will be no clay in Beijing.

SERBS CRASH OUT IN OPENERS

Is there any energy left in Jelena Jankovic? She certainly looked uninspired going down to Nicole Vaidisova, 6-4, 6-4. J.J. is in need of a two week rest before the championships, but instead, she is scheduled to play in Quebec the week before Madrid.

The other Serbian wonderwoman, Ana Ivanovic, put up a horrific performance against Tatiana Golovin, going down 6-3, 6-1. She was spraying balls all over the court, and her serve was totally off.

Elena Dementieva retired with a left adductor strain against Francesca Schiavone, and Amelie Mauresmo needs more time to get back in form after her long lay-off, falling in three sets to Ukranian Alona Bondarenko.