After Atalanta

Svetlana Kuznetsova just won the Pilot Pen, the last stop before the US Open. I didn't get to see the match but I saw the final score: 4-6, 3-0 (ret). I haven't seen any news (the Pilot Pen site is lousy; no match recaps or stories anywhere that I can find) but I wonder if Szavay had issues with the heat and humidity. It had been cool all week and she had the benefit of playing the night match in the semis whereas Kuznetsova played Dementieva in her semi during the heat of the day. Kuznetsova certainly battled in her matches during some rounds of the tournament but she undoubtedly benefited from three straight retirements by her opponents. It must give her some confidence going into the Open the site of her only Grand Slam title to date. UPDATE: Szavay retired after aggravating a back injury at the end of the first set.

Agnes Szavay will play in today's Pilot Pen final against Svetlana Kuznetsova. I saw Szavay on Wednesday in her first set against Hantuchova (I had to get over to the grandstand to see the Raymond/Davenport doubles match) and it was the first I had seen her play or even heard of her. (The big question is what is the correct pronunciation of her name. She was introduced as Agnes Szavay with a pronunciation like the French ca va but with the last syllable accented and a long a sound: ca VAY. But on ESPN--which I have no faith in for pronunciation of players' name--they are saying something like CHA-vay.) She's good and I was surprised I had not heard of her given that she is in the top 50. And last night she took out Eleni Danillidou who I watched in an amazing comeback against Sybille Bammer on Wednesday. I hope the players who have been making strides in the US Open Series have a good showing at the Open this coming week.