Number 3 seed Anna Chakvetadze and number 5 seed Vera Zvonareva were defeated today in the third round of the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. 14th seed Sybille Bammer upset Chakvetadze, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, and number 9 seed Nadia Petrova defeated Zvonareva, 6-4, 7-5.
4th seed Dinara Safina was taken to the edge by qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva. Safina had a major problem with her second serve, and did not win a single game in the second set. She also committed 12 double faults; Kudryavtseva committed 10. Safina saved a match point with an ace at 4-5, and won the tiebreak easily, 7-3 (she won the first tiebreak, 7-1).
The German Open and the French Open gave Safina a reputation for living on the edge, and tonight's win over Kudryavtseva does nothing to dispel that image. I did not get to see the match, but it appears that Safina was a just a complete mess--but figured out how to win the match under pressure. That is what really good players do, and though it is clear that Safina needs to clean things up and not turn every contest into a cliffhanger, she is nevertheless impressive. And so is Kudryavtseva.
Safina def. Kudryavtseva, 7-6, 0-6, 7-6
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