Kuznetsova, the 2004 champion and No. 3 seed this year, trailed 4-2 in the opening set before getting back on serve and eventually forcing a tiebreak that she dominated against her inexperienced opponent. She cruised to a 5-0 lead in the second and closed out the match in 1 hour, 13 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The No. 15 seed Patty Schnyder also moved into the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the U.S. Open girls’ singles champion two years ago.
In just her fourth career Grand Slam event, Cirstea is forging a bit of a bad habit. Cirstea, who made her debut at a major in this year’s Australian Open, led there by a break three times in the opening set against current world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, only to fall 7-5, 6-3 in the first-round match.
She reached the second round at the French Open and Wimbledon.
The afternoon session on Day 3 at the Open also featured second-seeded Jelena Jankovic in a second-round match, while No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic and fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko were slated for first-round matchups on the men’s side.
Andy Roddick, who has battled a shoulder injury this summer that led him to skip the Beijing Olympics, was scheduled to close out the night session Wednesday with a first-round match against Fabrice Santoro. The third night traditionally showcases the first men’s match of the second round, but this year that was saved until Thursday.
All women’s matches Wednesday were second-round pairings — including No. 23 Lindsay Davenport against Alisa Kleybanova in the first match at night.
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