Kuznetsova wins Bali; hits Bartoli
Sveta Kuznetsova won in Bali today, 7-5 6-2. She also managed to smack Bartoli during the warm-up. I would NOT want to be on the receiving end of a body shot from Kuznetsova!
Early in the pre-match warm-up, the top seed slammed over a ball which hit a shocked Bartoli on the left arm. The incident sent the sixth seed to the sidelines for some ice and brought a few tears.
Kuznetsova said it was an unfortunate accident. ‘She was right at the net and I was behind the baseline. We were hitting hard,’ said the Russian. ‘Of course I ran up and said I was sorry,
‘But when she saw that ball coming, she didn’t seem to move. I’m sorry it happened, but I couldn’t do anything else, I couldn’t take the shot back.’
Bartoli, 26th in the world who had upset Swiss second seed Patty Schnyder in the semi-finals, said she had never experienced anything like it.
‘It didn’t affect my game, but it was a shock. She hit the ball hard straight at me,’ said Bartoli, winner of her first WTA title last January in Auckland.
‘That’s not the way you warm up. She apologized but I couldn’t believe it.’ Monsters and Critics
This adds to Kuz’s Miami title from earlier this year.