… when the best was not good enough

• Sania broke twice to lead 2-0, and 4-2, but was broken back.

• Lost the seventh game with a plethora of double faults.

• Broken again in the tenth game, to lose the set, 4-6.

Second set

• Broke twice early, to cruise to a 3-0 lead.

• After losing two games, held on to lead 4-2.

• At 5-3, lost three straight games to serve to stay in the match.

• Held on to her serve and won the tie-breaker at 4 to take the match into the decider.

Third set

• Broken in the third game, but broke right back to make it 2-2.

• Not finding serving rhythm and being broken twice more, seemed she would give up.

• Still broke Kuznetsova serving for match, and held on to her serve to make it 4-5.

• At break point, Kuznetsova came up with an unbelievable volley which, according to Sania, sealed the match.

Match facts

• Sania hit 35 winners to Kuznetsova’s 38.

• She had 37 unforced errors compared to Svetlana’s 30.

• Sania made 8 double faults and won only 23% of points on her second serve.

• She converted just 6 break point she availed.