Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova has reaffirmed her support for Maria Sharapova following her doping ban.
The former world No.1, who defeated Timea Babos in her second round match at the US Open, is playing in her first grand slam tournament for 19 months. Sharapova missed 15 months of the tour after testing positive for the banned substance Meldonium. She has been the subject of an ongoing debate regarding the fairness of rewarding wild cards to doping violators. Receiving full support from compatriot Kuznetsova.
“I’ve been always supportive to Maria about that one. She did her time. I think now it has to be over, the talk. She can just concentrate and play. For her it’s been tough. She paid her mistake. Now it’s time to play.” She said.
“And it’s great to have her back because tennis misses her. Tournament directors, people around, they would love to watch her play. You can see after her first match (at the US Open) how the crowd welcomed her back.”
Kuznetsova’s comments came after a two-and-a-half hour clash against Czech 18-year-old Markéta Vondroušová. The eighth seed was forced to save three match points before prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2). During her first round encounter, Kuznetsova appeared to be experiencing issues with her wrist, which required painkillers.
“I felt that pain in my wrist, it was really painful to play backhands. Then the physio came and taped my wrist, and I took a pill, like ibuprofen or whatever it was, whatever doctor gave me.” The world No.8 recounted.
“Next changeover, I still felt like I need more support. In few games, the pain went away because I guess the pill started to work. So far I think it’s a little bit inflamed. I just put ice. I will evaluate it later.”
Kuznetsova’s next opponent will be Japan’s Kurumi Nara.
Radwanska on the perils of playing on court 5
Agnieszka Radwańska produced 23 winners during her 6-4, 7-6(3), win over Petra marttic. The Polish player, who recently dropped outside the world’s top ten, struggled to adjust to the conditions on court 5. A court that she had never previously played on.
“It was tough. All those courts really close to each other, so it’s pretty loud. You don’t know if they calling on your court or the court next to you.” She explained.
“The fans are also very loud, crazy, on the other courts as well. They’re cheering their players. It’s really, really loud. It’s tough. So you have to really adjust and focus on your game, not on other things going on.”
The win extends Radwanska’s flawless record in the first round at the US Open. Since making her debut back in 2006, she has never lost in the opening round of the tournament. Overall, Radwanska has only lost in the first round of a grand slam tournament three times in her career.
“It’s good to pass the first round. It can be really tricky. First round can be really tough, as we can see in the draw.” She said.
“Every match matters. You really have to be really prepared 100% from the first round, from the first ball, because you’re not going to have any gifts in the first round.”
Radwanska will next play Yanina Putintseva.
