Kuznetsova crashes out

Dubai:  Venus Williams continues her run as defending champion but yesterday was a day of upsets at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships as the top two seeds Caroline Wozniacki and Svetlana Kuznetsova were both sent packing.

World No 3 Wozniacki, the tournament's top seed, failed to settle into any kind of rhythm in her third round clash with Shahar Peer who won in straight sets 6-2 7-5. Third-seeded Williams had no such problems herself easily advancing to the quarter-finals with a polished 7-5, 6-0 win over Olga Govortsova of Belarus.

However, it was unfancied qualifier Regina Kulikova who produced the shock of the day when she fought back from a set down to stun her Russian compatriot Kuznetsova 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a match that lasted close to three-and-a-half hours on centre court.

As the 21-year-old attempted to put her incredible win into words in what she shyly admitted was her first press conference, she said: "I don't know how I won. I was just playing. I'm still realising that I won.

"It was very interesting to play her because she's one of the best players and she's won so many titles. I just went on the court and I was not thinking about winning or losing. I was just thinking about playing my best game and I was fighting until the end. That gave me good success," added Kulikova.