Russia’s No.1 tennis tournament – the Kremlin Cup – starts on Saturday, featuring a moderately strong men’s draw and a women’s line-up that’s as strong than as many Grand Slam tournaments and inferior only to the seasons
Many of the world’s top players have already arrived in Moscow to have time to prepare for the tournament at the Olympisky Arena. Their number includes Amelie Mauresmo, who got all the way to the final back in 2003 when she lost to home favourite Anastasia Myskina.
The former world number one has been dealing with injuries over the last couple of years, but it looks like she is ready to make an impact in the Russian capital.
“I’m definitely feeling good physically. That’s a big point for me, because I’ve been struggling for the past year with injuries, so it’s important for me to feel good, to move good around the court. I’d like to go all the way in this tournament, but we have a tough draw in here, with a lot of great players,” Mauresmo admitted.
Two of the big names who’ll be missing are current world no.1 and last year’s finalist Serena Williams has an ankle injury sustained this week in Stuttgart, while world no.6 Maria Sharapova will be out for the remainder of the year due to an injured shoulder.
Russian contenders look strong
The men’s competition is less star studded when it comes to the big names. But one person who’s sure to inspire support is world number six and the winner of three Kremlin Cups including the last two, Nikolay Davydenko.
In 2007 the 27-year-old claimed victory against Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu. The Russian was full of confidence training in the Olimpisky, obviously intent on keeping the trophy in it’s home country.
“I don’t like playing against Russians on the early stages. It’s always a bit of a disappointmentl, as we can win some matches and meet in semi-final or final, that’s what I hope for. Not like last time, when I played with Marat [Safin] in the first round,” he said.
Davydenko’s fellow countrymen Dmitry Tursunov, Mikhail Youzhny, Igor Andreev, Marat Safin and Igor Kunitsyn will be trying to accomplish a similar mission, along with a host of their female compatriots.
“I want to step into tournament and feel comfortable – 100%. I lost two days ago in Stuttgart, it’s bad by itself, but on the other hand offers a good opportunity to better prepare on this surface and be ready. Still I’m a little tired, but I hope to recover in a few days. I’ll do my best to play well here,” promised world no. 7, Svetlana Kuznetsova.
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