Vesnina Advances, Kirilenko Falters

In two contrasting first-round matches at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Russia, Elena Vesnina mounted a comeback from a 6-2, 1-6, 0-5 score deficit to win over  Chinese Li Na, 6-2,1-6, 7-6 while Russian pin-up girl wasted at set lead in losing to Italian Francesca Schiavone, 6-3,5-7,6-7, in more than three hours.

After easily winning the first set, while faltering in the second set, Vesnina was in it for a loss, at  0-5 in the third set. Alas, the Russian turned the table against her Chinese opponent as she made a climactic comeback, matching Na shot for shot,  to push the game into a deciding tiebreaker. Vesnina’s  hard work off as she won the third set, 7-6.

“This is a great win for me,” said Vesnina. “I’ve never came back from 5-0 down in the third set to win. Up until 5-3 I think she was still playing relaxed, but when it got closer I definitely could tell she was getting nervous”, an elated Vesnina further said.
Off form Russian Maria Kirilenko suffered yet again, another first round loss at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Russia despite the fact that she hired a coach a few weeks ago. In a more-than-three-hour match, Italian Francesca Schiavone prevailed over the young Russian, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(3).