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From Russia, With Love

In 2004, a new powerhouse in women’s tennis emerged as three of the four Grand Slam events were won by Russians. Three years later, the dominance continues as nine Russians currently reside in the Top 50 of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings, including an astonishing four in the Top 10. They have also been exceptional collectively, winning back-to-back Fed Cup by BNP Paribas championships in 2004-05 and qualifying for their third Fed Cup final in the last four years just a few weeks ago.

No Russian is carrying more momentum heading into the Rogers Cup presented by American Express than Anna Chakvetadze. She comes into the tournament having won 12 of her last 13 matches, an impressive run that included two titles (the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open in Cincinnati, Ohio and the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California) and saw her rise to a current second-place standing in the US Open Series Lever 2000 Challenge. Chakvetadze turned pro in 2003 and just four years later is now one of the premier talents in the game. She started off the season with a win in Hobart, added another in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, and now sits at a career-high No. 6 in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings. She is only the third player on the Tour to win four titles this year, joining Belgian and world No. 1 Justine Henin (five) and Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic (four). The 20-year old from Moscow also put up her best ever finish at a Grand Slam event, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and the French Open in 2007. In her only previous Rogers Cup appearance, Chakvetadze made it to last year’s semifinals in Montreal before losing to Switzerland’s Martina Hingis.
Chakvetadze’s Fed Cup teammates and fellow Top 10 residents Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova give their native country a pair of talented veterans with trophy-hoisting experience.

One of the most likeable players on the WTA Tour is Kuznetsova, who is currently ranked No. 4 in the world. She is a consistent, well-rounded player and at 22 years of age, has already collected several singles and doubles titles on Tour. Most notably, she captured the US Open crown as a teenager in 2004, the first Grand Slam title of her career. Just a few months later, she added the 2005 Australian Open doubles title to her resume, winning the event with Australia’s Alicia Molik. Athletic genes run in Kuznetsova’s family. Her mother, Galina Tsareva, was a six-time world champion cyclist and a holder of 20 world records, and her brother Nikolai Kuznetsov, was a silver medalist in cycling at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Both were coached by her father Alexandr, who has coached several Olympic and world champions. A native of St. Petersburg, Russia, she has also had success on Canadian soil, winning the 2003 Rogers Cup presented by American Express doubles championship with Martina Navratilova (United States) and reaching the quarterfinals of the singles draw last year in Montreal.

Kuznetsova and compatriot Petrova have had a string of odd similarities crop up throughout their respective careers. Petrova has won a comparable number of career titles (seven singles and 12 doubles to Kuznetsova’s eight and 13) and they are two of only three Russians to reach No. 3 in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings. The two women have also put up similar results on Canadian tennis courts.  Petrova won last year’s Rogers Cup doubles title, also with Navratilova, and her best showing in the singles draw was a quarterfinal appearance in 2005. In fact, the 25-year old Petrova is a regular in the Rogers Cup main draw, missing the tournament only once in the last seven years (the 2002 event in Montreal due to injury). Furthermore, like Kuznetsova, Petrova’s family also has a history of exceptional athletic abilities. Her mother, Nadejda Ilina, won the bronze medal in the 400m relay at the Montreal Olympics and her father, Victor Petrov, was a top hammer thrower. From there, the careers of these two women diverge as Petrova has yet to capture a major title. Still, she is in fine form again in 2007, having won the Open Gaz de France in Paris earlier this year and presently sitting at No. 9 in the world rankings.

Not to be forgotten when discussing the Russians is Maria Sharapova, the current No. 2 ranked player in the world and another of the young crop of talent from the country. Boasting a commanding presence on the court and a large fan base off of it, Sharapova is a feature attraction wherever she goes and backs up the attention with her considerable talent. A native of Nyagan, Siberia, she has already won two Grand Slam events in her career, becoming the third youngest Wimbledon champion ever in 2004 when she captured the title at 17 years of age and then adding the US Open championship last year. The 20-year old won her second straight Acura Classic last week in San Diego for her first championship of 2007 and the 16th of her career.

A handful of other talented Russian women are also featured in the summer hard court season including Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva, Olga Poutchkova and Maria Kirilenko. No Russian woman has ever won the Rogers Cup presented by American Express singles championship, however, it is clear that several of them have the ability to make a splash next week when the women take to the courts of the Rexall Centre.

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