I find myself slightly regretting asking to write about Svetlana Kuznetsova today, not only because her straight-sets defeat of Magdalena Rybarikova was less of a contest than might have been hoped, but because it’s almost impossible to judge what we might reasonably expect from the rest of her tournament. When it comes to Kuznetsova, the champion here in 2009, it’s axiomatic to expect the unexpected, so much so that logically, she should come up with a sustained run of good form just to truly confound us all. But this isn’t a semantic quibble, it’s a career.
Kuznetsova has always been prone to sustained periods of irrelevance leavened with flashes of brilliance. Her year so far has been defined by losses; five first-round defeats to the likes of Christina McHale and Greta Arn, a meek surrender to Caroline Wozniacki in the finals of Dubai, and most memorably an epic battle with Francesca Schiavone in Melbourne, one of the best contests of 2011 so far. Discussion of Wozniacki’s chances in Paris have largely taken for granted the weakness of Kuznetsova, her possible fourth-round opponent, and there was a reasonable expectation that Rybarikova—who recently defeated Petra Kvitova in the final of the ITF tournament in Prague and won Memphis earlier in the year—might cause an upset.
Rybarikova is Kuznetsova writ small. She had her moments of extravagant shot-making, and there were moments at the beginning of the second set when she succeeded in rocking Kuznetsova back on her heels in the backhand corner. But in general, both her serve and groundstrokes were too inconsistent, allowing Kuznetsova to rely on her own brutal forehand to dominate the rallies and the match. Despite the straightforward scoreline (6-2, 6-3), however, Kuznetsova looked anything but comfortable. It seemed she was attempting to rush the net on every single point, pushing forward relentlessly and often recklessly. It’s a good tactic for a player who volleys as well as Kuznetsova, but it smacks more of insecurity than strategy: I don’t want to stay in this rally, because I can’t trust myself not to miss from the baseline.
Always too great a talent to be discounted, Kuznetsova does her best work when she’s wholly unheralded. But she looks like she’s holding her confidence together with both hands at the moment, and if Rybarikova had managed to keep her out on court a little longer, it’s a safe bet that the cracks would have started to show. It doesn’t bode well for the former champion. Still, expect the unexpected.
—Hannah Wilks