Kuznetsova edges Serena in thriller

No7 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame Serena Williams in a three-set thriller on Wednesday afternoon to book a spot in the semi-finals of the French Open for the third time in her career. The Russian staged a stirring fightback from 1-3 down in the final set to prevail 7-6(3) 5-7 7-5. Williams must be given great credit for the part she took in a classic encounter that lasted 2 hours 45 minutes. The 2002 champion refused to lie down, hauling herself back into the match almost by force of will alone on several occasions, including when Kuznetsova served for the match at 5-3 in the second set. Serena never looked entirely comfortable with her game though, and in the end it was the Russian’s more regular hitting that saw her through to a semi-final matchup with Australian surprise package Samantha Stosur. Early advantage Kuznetsova was the first to find her groove, breaking Serena twice to lead 3-0. The early advantage evaporated as the set went on, however, and the Russian 2004 US Open winner was unable to serve out for the set at 5-4. The opener went to a tiebreak then, but this time it was Serena’s turn to suffer from nerves, and the American won the set when she wrong-footed Williams with a forehand down the line. The second set followed the same pattern as the first, with Kuznetsova racing to a 3-0 lead and then conceding her advantage when serving for the match at 5-3. But just like in 2004 against eventual champ Anastasia Myskina and like in 2005 against eventual winner Justine Henin (where she held two match points at 5-3), she couldn’t hold the fort, as she was broken on a backhand error. Ten-time Grand Slam champion Williams was the architect of her own fightback, finally throwing caution to the wind and firing winners (44 in total) and aces (10) in a display of attacking tennis that reaped dividends. Serena takes command The initiative had changed hands. Serena rattled off four consecutive games to take the second set 7-5 with a booming ace. Kuznetsova, who had a 1-5 record against Williams entering the match, recalled the 2009 Australain Open, when she had Serena on the ropes in the second set and couldn’t close it out. “In the third set it was tough, but still I convinced I can make it,” she said. “In the bottom of my heart I still believe that I was doing great. I wasn't playing bad. Yes, I missed my moments, but she also was playing good. She served good in important moments, and I still believe I was fighting. So that was the key.” Williams opened up a 2-0 lead in the third and looked set fair to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the first time since 2003, when in her infamous defeat Henin, she broke down in tears after the crowd turned against her. But there was plenty more tennis left in this tie, and now it was Kuznetsova’s turn to stage a comeback. She stemmed the flow with a solid service game then won a tight sixth game to level at 3-3. “In the third I had an opportunity and I got really tight, and I pretty much gave it to her,” said Serena, who said she hadn’t gotten nervous since the 2007 Australian Open. “It was like, ‘Here, you know, do you want to go to the semis? Because I don't.’ She was like, ‘Okay.’” The St Petersburg native carved out two match points at 5-4, 15-40, but couldn’t handle a Serena serve and then committed a shaky forehand error. But this time, the Russian didn’t quake and kept her head in the match. At 6-5, she ripped a forehand winner to giant a final match point and instead of playing tentatively, nailed two big forehands and watched Serena careen a backhand wide. “Honestly I think I lost because of me and not because of anything she did,” said a disappointed Williams. “I don't think that makes it easier, but it makes me realize that had I done different things I would have been able to win. I guess I was just on a hope and a dream, and now it's over.” Kuznetsova, who is playing her best tennis since 2004, will meet the unheralded Australian Stosur to reach the final of a Grand Slam for the fourth time in her career, and the first since the US Open in 2007. While she has had her shaky moments over the past few years, she keeps pushing herself and without question, still has an inner fire. “I believe that the girls work hard to have different mentality, completely different,’ she said. “Even I have been thinking about this quite a bit, because everybody asking questions, ‘Why [are the] Russians so strong?’ I believe it's not only coming when we grow up it was so difficult. It's also coming through the war, because our grandparents, they were fighting in the war and things were very extremely hard. They had to go with nothing, without maybe bullets, only with knife, and still to go to war. They teach their kids to be always strong. I think this is one of the keys.”