Last update - 00:00 04/06/2007
Third-seed Kuznetsova ousts Peer to reach semifinals
By Rami Hipsh
Shahar Peer's run at this year's French Open came to an abrupt end in the quarterfinals, when she lost to Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3 in just 81 minutes.
Peer, No. 17 in the world, had no answer to Kuznetsova's strong serves, and disappeared completely in the second set, as the Russian put on a fine tennis display on Court 1 to eliminate Peer.
Last year, Peer also failed to get past the quarterfinals, and even though she had hoped to improve on her 2006 showing, Kuznetsova, the world's third-ranked player, was a formidable obstacle who blocked her way.
Kuznetsova reached the final at Roland Garros last year, losing to Belgium's Justine Henin.
Yesterday's match was Peer's first loss to Kuznetsova. They faced each other at the Australian Open and at Key Biscayne earlier this year.
"I got my revenge," said Kuznetsova. "It is difficult to beat her by such a large margin. I made mistakes at the beginning and lost three games, but I was fortunate to regain my concentration and win the match."
Peer did not look for excuses. "I did not play very well today, and she played exceptionally well," she said. "I could not manage her backhands, she produced winners from everywhere and was simply better. I'm disappointed, but am ready to reach at least as far as the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam.
"I had a good tournament, but it's clear that I'll have to improve my game in order to reach a higher level. I'm better than how I was a year ago, and that's due to hard work. If I continue to work hard on my strokes, I'll improve."
Kuznetsova will face seventh-seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in the semifinal.
Still alive with Safina in doubles play
Peer and Dinara Safina of Russia reached the women's doubles quarterfinals yesterday by defeating Serbia's Jelena Jankovic and Na Li of China 6-3, 6-2.
The 11th-seeded duo will next face Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia and Japan's Ai Sugiyama.
In the mixed doubles, Andy Ram and Nathalie Dechy of France ousted the Czech Repuiblic's Pavel Vizner and Janette Husarova of Slovakia in a 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 round-of-16 thriller.
Julia Glushko, the national juniors champion, made history with her first-ever win at a Grand Slam, a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory over France's Nathalie Mohn in the first round of the girls' singles.
However, her road gets much more difficult in the second round.
The 15th-seeded Israeli will face 14-year-old Micaela Larcher De Brito of Portugal in the next round. De Brito, one of the rising stars in women's tennis, has already won a WTA Tour title.