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Kuznetsova: two bouts of nerves
Russian fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova celebrated her 23rd birthday with a battling victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the third round.
The former US Open champion overcame two bouts of nerves and a lengthy rain delay to win 6-2 6-4 against the Czech qualifier in one hour and 19 minutes.
Three-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist Kuznetsova made a tense start on Court Two, facing a break point in her opening service game, but she Strycova hit a return long.
The Russian heeded the warning by raising her game and her Czech opponent, ranked 109 in the world, was unable to keep up with the change of pace.
Kuznetsova carved out three break points in the sixth game and although the first two went begging, a brief loss of composure from Strycova - who was given a warning for swearing at a line judge - allowed the fourth seed to open up a lead with a smashed volley.
The Czech qualifier was showing signs of frustration on almost every point and Kuznetsova took further advantage, producing a well-executed drop shot to clinch the opening set in just 35 minutes.
Strycova had never gone beyond the second round at the All England Championships before this year and looked slightly out of her depth against the experienced Russian.
Gifted
A double fault from the 22-year-old Czech gifted Kuznetsova another break in the second game to stretch the Russian's winning run to six games.
At this point the rain made its first significant appearance at this year's event, holding up proceedings for nearly two hours.
And when the players eventually returned, Kuznetsova seemed to be the one most affected by the delay as Strycova first broke back in the fifth - thanks to an unstoppable backhand down the line - before holding off five break points in the next game.
Temperamental
Another temperamental spell from Strycova allowed Kuznetsova to regain her two-game cushion in the eighth but the Czech hit back instantly - much to the delight of the crowd who had been treated to several entertaining rallies.
Yet Strycova's inconsistency returned in the 10th game when, facing two match points, she produced a double fault to hand the win to Kuznetsova.
The Russian will now face 14th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Afterwards, Kuznetsova revealed she had already made plans for a double-celebration this evening.
"Hopefully, I'll get out of Wimbledon village and into London later. Go out with some friends and have a good time, although not too a good time otherwise that would be the end of Wimbledon for me."
