By Tennis Now | Thursday, October 17, 2019
World No. 42 Veronika Kudermetova stunned top-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 in a masterful Moscow homecoming victory.
Photo credit: KremlinCup.ru
Veronika Kudermetova hit a career high on home turf.
Kudermetova stunned top-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 in a masterful Moscow homecoming victory.
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"Today I managed to stay in thanks to the tremendous support of the crowd," Moscow resident Kudermetova said afterward. "My tactical plan was to put pressure, to come to the net, because during the rallies from the baseline I had fewer chances."
Facing a Top 5-ranked opponent for the first time, the 22-year-old Russian played with poise down the stretch.
Kudermetova battled back from a break down twice in the final set reeling off eight of the last 11 points to cap the biggest win of her career.
It was Svitolina's first opening-round exit since June when she lost to Alize Cornet in her Eastbourne opener. Svitolina's streak of nine consecutive tournament-opening wins included semifinal runs at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Kudermetova cracked eight aces and won 74 percent of her first-serve points in a two-hour, two-minute triumph.
It was Kudermetova's fifth win in her last six matches following her burst to the Tianjin semifinals where she knocked off three Top 50 opponents—Ajla Tomljanovic, Zheng Saisai and Dayana Yastremska—before losing to Heather Watson.
The win sends Kudermetova into an all-Russian quarterfinal against either Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or qualifier Varvara Gracheva.
It was a day of three-set thrillers in Moscow.
Earlier, No. 2 seed Kiki Bertens beat back a stiff challenge from Kaia Kanepi 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Down 1-4 in the decider, Bertens burned through six of the final seven games.
The world No. 8, who fell to Coco Gauff in the Linz quarterfinals last week, overcame eight double faults with some timely serve-and-first-strike tennis during the final set today.
The comeback sends Bertens into her 12th quarterfinal of the season.
The St. Petersburg champion will face Kristina Mladenovic for a spot in the final four.
For the second match in a row, Mladenovic showed staying power going the distance in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 decision over Anastasija Sevastova.
The sixth-seeded Sevastova carved out a clever drop shot to break for a 5-3 second-set lead before serving out the set at love.
World No. 1 doubles player Mladenovic knew she needed ot change things up and did so.
Closing at net on some critical points, Mladenovic won eight of 10 points breaking in the fourth game and confirming the break for a 4-1 lead in the decider.