Svetlana Kuznetsova snapped up her first final berth of the year on Saturday, cruising past Flavia Pennetta in the first semifinal of the Mercury Insurance Open at the La Costa Resort & Spa, 6-4 6-0.
Kuznetsova, unseeded but with a 3-0 head-to-head record against the No.5-seeded Pennetta, broke away from 3-all in the first set, winning nine of the next 10 games to improve to 4-0 against the Italian and reach her first final since winning the China Open - also a Premier-level event - in Beijing last fall.
Kuznetsova, who was in the Top 3 at the start of the year but now finds herself just outside the Top 20, will be playing in her 31st career final, going 12-18 in her first 30. Three of those finals came during the summer hardcourt season, including two US Open finals (winning it in 2004, runner-up in 2007).
Kuznetsova, unseeded but with a 3-0 head-to-head record against the No.5-seeded Pennetta, broke away from 3-all in the first set, winning nine of the next 10 games to improve to 4-0 against the Italian and reach her first final since winning the China Open - also a Premier-level event - in Beijing last fall.
Kuznetsova, who was in the Top 3 at the start of the year but now finds herself just outside the Top 20, will be playing in her 31st career final, going 12-18 in her first 30. Three of those finals came during the summer hardcourt season, including two US Open finals (winning it in 2004, runner-up in 2007).
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