Preparing for the quarter-finals of a Premier Mandatory tournament might involve some last minute physical training, but for Svetlana Kuznetsova it was taking a casual selfie on her phone.
Resuming her 2017 rivalry with close friend Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the eighth seed triumphed 6-3, 6-2, dropping her serve only once it the match. The win comes less than two months after Kuznetsova lost twice to the World No.21 during the Australian swing of the tour.
“I lost two to her times this year I have played (against her). Today was a kind of important match, I lost in Sydney, I lost in Melbourne. I knew I wasn’t playing my best back then and now I am feeling much better on the court.” Said Kuznetsova.
The quarter-final triumph was achieved with the help of 21 winners (two-times more than Pavlyuchenkova) and a 81% first service winning rate. Furthermore, Kuznetsova managed to convert five out of six break point opportunities.
Basking in her latest victory, the 31-year-old spoke highly about Pavlyuchenkova. Even playing against each other on the tour, Kuznetsova refuses to let it get in between their friendship. In fact, she even conducted a selfie of them both prior to their match.
“Yea we’re close friends.” She said during her on court interview. “I asked her for a selfie before the match. She looked at me as if I was crazy. It was so funny.”
The enormity of the win is a significant one for Kuznetsova. Set to play in the last four at Indian Wells for the first time since 2008, she is on course for a clash against either Karolina Pliskova or Garbine Muguruza.
It remains to be seen if any more selfies will be taken in the build up to the semifinals.
Iconic. pic.twitter.com/eayGvFdTFI
— маx (@maxwell_tennis) 15 March 2017
