TENNIS in DEPTH.

In 2008 and during the first quarter of this year, the strong leggedRussian struggled to find her ethereal form, falling to win atournament until three weeks ago in Stuttgart, when she bested No. 1Dinara Safina for the title.

As talented and strong as she is, Kuznetsova has grappled with her on-court courage and nerves since she came of age by beating Lindsay Davenport and Elena Dementieva to win the 2004 US Open. Going into Stuttgart, she had lost her last six finals.

“I had trouble playing the finals, but I played Henin most of the timeand she played better than me. But sometimes it was meand something was disturbing me. Something wasn’t there and [inStuttgart] it was first time I walked on court I felt I could do it.”

In March, Kuznetsova let go of her former coach, Olga Morozova aftershe lost in the first round of two straight events for the firsttime. A little over a month later, she hired former top ranked doublesplayer and current Fed Cup coach Larisa Savchenko to help her duringthe clay court season. Savchenko is still in her 30s and seems to have a good idea when to let Kuznetsova go her own way.

“She’s very easy going and relaxed and we have great communication,”Kuznetsova said. “She tells me little things and it helps me find my way out. For me, external opinion helps, but it doesn’t have to be pushy and bring me down.”

Kuznetsova still sees herself as an elite player, which really was not the case last year, when many times it seemed like she put her head down during critical matches. But on clay, her footwork is superior and she is adept at constructing points to her advantage.

“It’s about me doing my tactics because most of the matches is going to depend on what do,” she said. “If I play well, I’m favoured most of the matches. But I don’t do goals now. It’s too much to think about. It’s better just to play my game and keep it simple.”

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