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Kanepi runs out of steam on dirt


 

Originally published on: 06/07/10 10:46

Surprise Wimbledon quarter-finalist Kaia Kanepi came back down to earth with a bump after she was dumped out of the Swedish Open by fifth seed Arantxa Parra Santonja.

The Estonian qualifier shocked Sam Stosur – albeit a player firmly of the Marat Safin-esque belief that “grass is for cows” – and went on to reach the last eight having not dropped a set, narrowly missing out on a spot in the Wimbledon semi-finals after squandering five match points against Petra Kvitova.

But though her SW19 run saw her leap 42 places to No.38 in the world, 25-year-old Kanepi failed to get to grips with her new spot in the ladder, losing 6-4 7-5 to Santonja – ranked 14 places below her.

In the form of her life after winning 26 of her last 29 matches, Kanepi was perhaps too accustomed to English lawns, losing to the Spaniard for the first time in their three WTA Tour meetings.

After her second-round Wimbledon exit, Aravane Rezai had no trouble easing back on to the red dirt, appearing in tune with the form that took her to her biggest career title at the Madrid Open in May with a 6-4 6-2 win over 32-year-old Lilia Osterloh.

Rezai had beaten both Justine Henin and Venus Williams on her way to win the Madrid title and was never threatened by the 140th-ranked American.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Germany’s Tatjana Malek, who beat Anastasia Rodionova 5-7 6-3 6-1, Akgul Amanmuradova, Karolina Sprem and Renata Voracova.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.