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Sugiyama stuns Kuznetsova CARLSBAD, California: Japan's Ai Sugiyama stunned second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in one of several upsets in the third round of the San Diego Classic on Thursday. Russian 18-year-old Anna Chakvetadze upended ninth seed Elena Likhovtseva 6-3, 6-1 and China's Peng Shuai beat No 16 seed Dinara Safina 7-6, 6-0. But fifth seed Patty Schnyder, sixth seed Mary Pierce and No 7 Kim Clijsters all survived. Schnyder beat Francesca Schiavone 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 and will meet France's Pierce, who beat compatriot Nathalie Dechy 7-5, 6-3. Clijsters continued her fine run of form on the US hardcourts, she is unbeaten since the 2003 US Open final, when she powered past Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-3. Japan's Akiko Morigami, meanwhile, ended Indian qualifier Sania Mirza's run with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory. Using a straight ahead attack, Pierce beat Dechy for the fourth time in five meetings. "She's a great defensive player who likes my kind of big game but I decided just to play aggressive and if she was too good, then she was too good," said Pierce. "I was really happy with the way I served to close the match out." The 30-year-old Sugiyama counterpunched brilliantly against U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova, who was rusty after a month's break since Wimbledon. Kuznetsova got off to a fast start but in the second set, the Japanese veteran began to wear her down with sharply angled shots. In the third set, Kuznetsova committed a series of unforced errors to be broken to 4-2 and lost the contest when she flailed at an easy backhand. "She concentrated during the whole match and I didn't," said Kuznetsova. "I had too many ups and downs. That month was the longest break I've ever had from tennis and I need some more matches before I get my form back." Lost form After winning her first grand slam title at the 2004 US Open and taking the title in Bali the following week, Kuznetsova has lost her stride. She has not won a tournament since then or reached the semi-finals of a grand slam. "I'm not very satisfied with my year," Kuznetsova said. "If you compare it to last year, maybe it's 50 percent as good, but I can't ask that of myself all of the time. Hopefully with more matches, my confidence will come back before the US Open." A one-time member of the world top 10, Sugiyama's level has also dropped. At the end of last year when her standard began to fall, she thought about retiring. "I'd lost my energy and my motivation," said Sugiyama, who reached her first quarter-final of the year. But Sugiyama hired a new hitting partner, Italy's Simone Amorico, and is also travelling full time with a fitness trainer. "My goal is to get back into the top 10. My fitness is getting better (and) with the new team I'm getting my confidence back," she said. "I don't want to end my career not playing at the level I'm capable of." Sugiyama will face 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva, who beat American Mashona Washington 6-1 6-2. It is the first time since 1996 that there are no Americans in the last eight and only the second time in the 21-year history of the tournament. (China Daily 08/06/2005 page12)
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