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Svetlana Kuznetsova
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born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player.
Kuznetsova was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her father Alexandr Kuznetsov is a cycling coach who has coached to success five Olympic and world champions. Her father's prot�g�s include her mother, Galina Tsareva, a six-time world champion and holder of 20 world records, and Svetlana�s brother, Nikolai Kuznetsov, a silver medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Kuznetsova also tried out cycling in her early years, but it bored her. She focused on tennis instead and was sent to Spain when she was 15 years old, for better training and coaching.
Kuznetsova plays mainly from the baseline, is a very good mover on court and over the years has perfected a heavy and accurate forehand that troubles her opponents greatly.
She won her first Grand Slam title in the 2004 US Open, where she defeated countrywoman Elena Dementieva in straight sets in an all-Russian final (the second in history after Myskina-Dementieva at the French Open of the same year).
Kuznetsova is also a very active doubles player and as of January, 2005 ranks third in the doubles rankings. Her second Grand Slam title came at the 2005 Australian Open's women's doubles event, where she teamed with Australia's Alicia Molik and defeated Americans Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu in the final. She reached five other Grand Slam doubles finals, with Martina Navratilova, Elena Likhovtseva and Amelie Mauresmo as her partners.
A year after her first Grand Slam victory, Kuznetsova became the first woman during the Open Era to lose in the first round as a defending women's champion at the 2005 US Open, losing to Ekaterina Bychkova. She was involved in a doping scandal and was accused of taking efedrine but as the test was taken during unofficial competition the case was never investigated.
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