Vesnina to take on Kudryavtseva in Tashkent Open final

By Sunder Iyer

Tashkent, September 24, 2010: Fourth seed and 72nd ranked Elena Vesnina will take on 7th seeded and world ranked 103rd player Alla Kudryavtseva in a all Russian final at the Tashkent Open, a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event being played at the Olympic Tennis Centre at Tashkent.

Vesnina overcame a 4-1 deficit in the third set to end the challenge of fifth seeded and 81st ranked Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in a 2 hour 9 minute tussle, while Kudryavtseva the runner-up at Gunagzhou , made it to the second consecutive final in as many weeks stopping the winning run of unseeded 109th ranked country mate Evgeniya Rodina 6-1,3-6,6-3 in 1 hour and 52 minutes.

Both the Russians will be aiming to lift their first ever career titles on the WTA Tour.

" I'm thrilled and feeling like playing with home support, the continuous cheering from the crowds, make me fight back from 3-0 in the final set and make a comeback and take the match" Vesnina said after her match.

“It is very difficult to play against a player like Monica, and I'm glad that I could play well and make it to the finals," she added. Vesnina was also all praise for Monica and said, it is unbelievable how Monica played this week with all those blisters on her leg and hands.

Making her second final after Istanbul this year, Vesnina said she expected a close final with two Russians taking on each other. In the first set Vesnina broke Niculescu in the 7th and 9th games to win the first set. In the second set Niculescu gave everything she had to break Vesnina in the 1st, 7th and the ninth games, Vesnina helped Niculescu serving 4 double faults in the second set to let the wily Romanian back into the match.

Niculescu continued splendidly racing to 4-1 lead in the third set and looked like wrapping up the match, but Vesnina boosted by crowd support came back to break Niculescu in the 7th and 9th games and wrap the match and enter the finals.

In the second match Alla Kudryavtseva started off in style dropping just 15 points and breaking Evgeniya Rodina in the 2nd and 6th games to wrap the set 6-1. But Rodina, who played consistently through out the week had different plans and played some unbelievable shots to break the Alla Kudryavtseva in the 8th game after both players traded breaks in the 5th and 6th games to win the set 6-3 and force the decider.

In the final set the match went with serves till 3-3, the Russian Fed cup player Kudryavtseva secured the decisive break in the 8th game and then held on the 9th game after 3 deuces and enter her second consecutive final in two weeks.

“It was a good tiring win, I did not except this at all reaching two finals in two weeks” said an elated Kudryavsteva after the match.

“I was more nervous at this semifinal than in China last week”, she added. About the final ahead she said Vesnina has played solid tennis until the finals and she needed to be more aggressive in the finals

Results singles semifinals:
4- Elena Vesnina (Rus) bt 5-Monica Niculescu (Rou) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
7- Alla Kudryatseva (Rus) bt Evgeniya Rodina (Rus) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.