New ova on the block

Svetlana Kuznetsova has become the first women's defending champion to go out in the first round at the US Open. Well, guess what - she was dumped out by little known fellow-ova (just couldn't resist that one), Ekaterina Bychkova. Ekaterina who? YAR - Yet Another Russian on the WTA tour. Boy, I wonder if they teach tennis alongside math and science in Russian schools these days! They just keep coming. The bad news as pointed out in that report seems to be that among Russians, only Maria Sharapova - whose Russian-ness has sometimes been questioned by her compatriots (and rivals) - has sustained the levels of tennis seen last year. In fact, Kuznetsova emulates Myskina who crashed out in the first round at the French defending her title. Myskina has reportedly had a tough time this year with her mother seriously ill and she was almost in tears at the French. Kuznetsova didn't quite have to do deal with as much stress, except for a drug cloud at the start of the year that seems to have died down. Nevertheless, these events should be a sobering reminder of how things can change, which makes it all the more important that athletes keep their feet firmly on the ground. - NK