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U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova eyes New Haven title

Posted on: Saturday, 20 August 2005, 16:43 CDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova spearheads a strong women's field at the Pilot Pen tournament which begins in New Haven, Connecticut on Sunday.

Lindsay Davenport, who will lose her world number one ranking to Russian Maria Sharapova on Monday, is top seed while world number three Amelie Mauresmo of France and number six Elena Dementieva of Russia also compete.

Russian Nikolay Davydenko, the world number seven, leads a men's field weakened by the late withdrawal of world number four Marat Safin through injury.

Much of the attention though will surround the battle for supremacy in the women's event.

With eight days to go until she begins her U.S. Open title defense, Kuznetsova goes into the tournament struggling for form and fitness having had a back injury in Toronto last week.

She needs match practice after winning only two matches since reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.

As one of the top four seeds, the Russian has a bye into the second round where she meets Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria or a qualifier.

BACK INJURY

Davenport, who has not played since retiring from her opening match at Stanford earlier this month due to a lower back injury, could play Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin, the world number 25, in her opening match.

Australian Alicia Molik, who has slipped out of the top 10 to number 13 having only played once since April because of an inner ear infection, returns to the tour.

"It's been a while since I've been on the circuit, so to get an opportunity to play here in New Haven the week before the U.S. Open is a big confidence boost," she said.

"The timing couldn't have been worse. I was playing the best tennis of my life.

"It was very frustrating. As well as a physical struggle, it was a mental battle too," said Molik.

"I don't think you realize how much you miss playing until you're forced out of it. When you're traveling a lot you wish you had time off but having that much time out of the game made me realize how much I love it."

Source: REUTERS

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