Svetlana Kuznetsova and Timea Bacsinszky faced off against each other for a spot in the final of Miami. On their way to the semi final, both players picked up impressive victories, notable examples include Kuznetsova victory against the world number one Serena Williams and Bacsinszky's win against the world number two Agnieszka Radwanska.
Kuznetsova and Bacsinszky had played on two prior occasions. Both of these matches were won by Kuznetsova, the most recent of which occurred because Bacsinszky had to retire. Kuznetsova would have been wanting to extend her lead in the head to head and she did exactly that with her straight sets victory today.
Kuznetsova Gets The Only Break
The match got off to a strong start for both players, as they managed to hold their opening two service games with relative ease. It was not until the fifth game of the set that the first break point opportunities arose. Bacsinszky worked herself into a position where she had two chances to break Kuznetsova's serve. The Swiss could not capitalize on either of the chances that she had, as Kuznetsova fought off the break points before eventually holding her serve.
In the eighth game of the set, Kuznetsova had the opportunity to break Bacsinszky. However, the Russian failed to take the chance which allowed Bacsinszky to win the game and keep the set on serve. Bacsinszky then had another chance to break Kuznetsova, but the Swiss player could not make the most of the opportunity.
Both players continued to hold their service games, and it looked like the set was going to go to a tie break, right up until the last game of the set. However, Kuznetsova fought off two break points, before getting the decisive break in the very next game. The Russian worked herself into a position where she could break Bacsinszky, and she took the game and set on her very first opportunity.
Bacsinszky Battles, But It's Not Enough
The second set was completely different to the first, as it was full of breaks of service. In the very first game Bacsinszky found a way to break Kuznetsova. The Swiss player took her very first break point of the set to put herself back in the match. Unfortunately for Bacsinszky her lead did not last long as she failed to consolidate the break, which allowed Kuznetsova to put the set back on serve.
Bacsinszky raced to a 40-0 lead in the third game, as Kuznetsova struggled to back up the break. Unfortunately for Bacsinszky, the Russian found her serve and managed to fight off all three of Bacsinszky's break point opportunities, before winning the game herself. Kuznetsova made Bacsinszky rue the missed opportunities, as she broke the Swiss player straight after. The battle of the breaks continued, as Bacsinszky fought her way back into the set, by breaking Kuznetsova in the very next game. The Swiss player found herself 40-0 up, and despite Kuznetsova managing to save one of the break point chances, she could do nothing to stop Bacsinszky from taking the second.
Bacsinszky got the set back on serve, but once again she failed to hold her service. Kuznetsova capitalized on mistakes by Bacsinszky to take the game, and put herself in a strong position in the match. This time around, Kuznetsova did not faulter when it came to consolidating the break. The Russian held her serve with relative ease, to put herself within touching distance of winning the match.
Bacsinszky added one more game onto the scoreboard, has she held her serve with ease, to give herself a glimmer of hope in the match. Kuznetsova had a 5-3 lead, and was serving for the set. The Russian struggled to serve the set out as Bacsinszky battled hard. Bacsinszky had three opportunities to break Kuznetsova and keep herself in the match. Kuznetsova fought off all three of the opportunities before taking the game, set and match on the first time of asking.
After just under two hours, Kuznetsova had defeated a resilient Bacsinszky to progress in the tournament. The Russian sets up a clash in the final against either the recent Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber or former world number one Victoria Azarenka.
