DUBAI, UAE - Ahead of her planned return to competition at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells this month, two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has sat down with Reem Abulleil of Sport 360 to discuss the frustrations leading up to her left wrist surgery last November - and how she's used the recovery time to pursue other interests and catch up with old friends.
From her training base in Dubai, Kuznetsova has opened up about the difficulty in choosing to go under the knife to deal with the lingering pain she felt in her wrist at the US Open and in China. "I sent my MRI to different doctors and got, like, five different opinions," the Russian recalled. "It's not easy to take the decision."
Surgery was a first experience for the 32-year-old, who admitted that she had been blasé in theory - but when it came to the actual day, was rather more scared. "You always hear people doing surgeries and you're like, 'Okay, sports, athletes, surgery is fine,'" she explained. "When it actually happens to you, it's so weird. When I was on the bed before the surgery I was like, 'Uuuhhh...'."
Following the procedure, Kuznetsova's activities while rehabbing her wrist were very much in character for the outgoing former World No.2. First up, she took advantage of choosing a Belgian doctor to spend some time keeping up with Kim Clijsters. "I had dinner with Kim and went to see her daughter play basketball and to a basketball game of the team her husband is coaching, and I went to her home," revealed the Russian. "We were sitting in the kitchen and she said, 'It's crazy, I can’t believe you're sitting in my kitchen in Belgium.'"
Not that the visit was without drama. Clijsters, who owns pigs and chickens these days, forgot to secure her pets' pen on leaving for the game. "Someone called her and told her she forgot to close the gate and the pig was in the street," laughed Kuznetsova.
Known by her fans as a long-time rap fan, Kuznetsova also took advantage of her down time to try her hand at TV presenting in Russia - not sports, but music news and a rap show. "I like the TV, I like to talk to people, to communicate, to have interesting chats, talking to successful people from different industries," she mused.
Tennis, though, was only for watching. "I enjoyed watching the Australian Open from the couch, not from the 40-degree heat," Kuznetsova joked, congratulating Caroline Wozniacki on her long-awaited maiden Slam. "It was a matter of time, so her time came and all things came together at this Australian Open."
Kuznetsova is aiming to return to the site of some of her greatest successes - but also frustrations. A three-time runner-up in Indian Wells - including last year, when she lost 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-4 to compatriot Elena Vesnina in the final - the Russian No.1 is yet to lift the title in the desert.
Now ranked No.19, one challenge for Kuznetsova is in reducing her schedule to preserve her body, just as veterans from Roger Federer to Venus Williams have done - while also playing enough to maintain her ranking. "The thing is, if you play less you've got to play better in order to keep the ranking,"she points out. Few, though, would bet against one of the greatest battlers of her generation from succeeding.
Read the full interview with Sport 360's Reem Abulleil here.
