Two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova had never made it past the quarters of a Grand Slam before the 2004 U.S. Open, when she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals and Elena Dementieva in the all-Russian final to win the title at age 19. Kuznetsova was at the time the lowest-seeded woman (No. 9) in Open Era history to win the U.S. Open (that record was surpassed in 2009 by Kim Clijsters, who won the title as a wild card). Kuznetsova lost to Justine Henin in the finals of the 2006 French Open and 2007 U.S. Open. At the 2009 French Open, Kuznetsova defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals and Dinara Safina in the final to win her second career Grand Slam singles title and improve her record in major finals to 2-2. She has reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open twice and the quarters of Wimbledon three times. She achieved a career-high ranking of No. 2 in 2007. Kuznetsova has an elite athletic pedigree: her mother is a former champion cyclist, her father is an elite cycling coach, and her brother is an Olympic silver medalist in cycling. (as of November 25, 2009)
Two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova had never made it past the quarters of a Grand Slam before the 2004 U.S. Open, when she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals and Elena Dementieva in the all-Russian final to win the title at age 19. Kuznetsova was at the time the lowest-seeded woman (No. 9) in Open Era history to win the U.S. Open (that record was surpassed in 2009 by Kim Clijsters, who won the title as a wild card). Kuznetsova lost to Justine Henin in the finals of the 2006 French Open and 2007 U.S. Open. At the 2009 French Open, Kuznetsova defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals and Dinara Safina in the final to win her second career Grand Slam singles title and improve her record in major finals to 2-2. She has reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open twice and the quarters of Wimbledon three times. She achieved a career-high ranking of No. 2 in 2007. Kuznetsova has an elite athletic pedigree: her mother is a former champion cyclist, her father is an elite cycling coach, and her brother is an Olympic silver medalist in cycling. (as of November 25, 2009)
