Confident Kournikova crushes Stevenson
Matthew Cronin
Anna Kournikova's attempt to re-establish herself as an elite player continued when she destroyed 30th-ranked Alexandra Stevenson 6-0 6-1 in the first round of the $750,000 Acura Classic on Tuesday.
World No. 47 Kournikova completely controlled the centre of the court and made light of her American opponent's huge first serve.
The blonde Russian reeled off the first nine games of the match before Stevenson broke her serve in the 10th.
It was only a temporary setback for Kournikova, however, as she powered groundstrokes down the line and caressed deft volleys over the net.
"I played almost perfect," said Kournikova, who reached the quarter-finals of the Bank of the West Classic last week but was forced to pull out of her doubles semi-final there with a strained abdominal muscle.
"It was really important to get ahead of her early and not give her any room to breathe. I returned serve unbelievably well and felt really confident going for my shots."
HOME CROWD
Playing in front of a sell-out 6,500 home crowd, San Diego native Stevenson was devastated by her defeat and broke down in tears afterwards.
"My pride was really hurt tonight," said the 1999 Wimbledon semi-finalist. "I like to put on a good show and to lose badly like that hurts. The crowd was there for me and I couldn't perform."
Kournikova, who has yet to win a title in 112 career tournaments, should have met Monica Seles in the second round but the fourth seed pulled out of the event on Monday because of injury. The Russian now faces lucky-loser Jennifer Hopkins.
Unlike last year, when she went into the Acura Classic having been out of action for six months with a foot injury and tumbled out in the first round, Kournikova looked fast and focused.
"It's a lot different," said Kournikova after cracking 16 winners past Stevenson.
"Now when I go on court, I'm thinking about my game plan, rather than how to hit the ball. Tonight the score might have looked easy, but's its hard work to keep focused the whole time. I was 99 percent good."
