Kuzenstova Captures Sydney Title; Dimitrov-Troicki Set for Men’s Final

After a long rain delay that suspended the quarterfinal matches in both draws at the Sydney International, action picked up again on Friday in Sydney, while the main draw of the Australian Open was being announced simultaneously in Melbourne.

The announcement of the draw may have affected the mindset of some players, as Australian Bernard Tomic, who has looked in form so far this year, retired against Teymuraz Gabashvili while trailing 3-6, 0-3 in their quarterfinal bout.

That is where the train stopped for Gabashvili, however, as he ran into third seeded Serb Viktor Troicki in the semifinals. Despite dropping the opening set, Troicki rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory to advance to the finals.

“It was a good day, a successful day,” said Troicki. “I played good tennis considering the conditions today. It was tough, mentally, going on and off the court all the time. It was quite windy sometimes during the match, and I managed to play well in those conditions. I’m happy and glad that tomorrow I’m playing a bit later so I will have time to rest. But I feel fine. I feel fit.”

He will need to be fit in the final when he meets fourth-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the championship match. Dimitrov cooled off Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller with a 6-2, 7-6(4) win in his semifinal.

“I’m happy to be back in a final,” said Dimitrov. “I’m aiming definitely higher and looking at the big picture right now. Whether it’s Brisbane or Sydney or any other tournament, it’s just as important as any other Grand Slam event or any of the Masters 1000s. I’m taking this very seriously, but at the same time trying to enjoy the moment. I think I know when you do that, you feel happier.”

Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova had to win two matches on Friday, and the two-time Grand Slam champion did just that to capture the Sydney International title.

Firs up was world number two Simona Halep, whom she led 5-4 when the match resumed on Friday. She would sneak out the first set in a tiebreaker, and despite dropping the second set, converted on her only break point in the third set to pull out the 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 victory.

She carried that momentum into the final where she took on Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig. Kuznetsova dominated the final, blowing past Puig 6-0, 6-2 in less than an hour.

“It’s great. I mean, honestly, I didn’t expect this, but I’ve also never gone into a tournament thinking about winning, never even once,” said Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open and 2009 French Open champion. “I just went out there and performed, and everything went my way.

Now I just want to keep my focus for the Australian Open.”