Kuznetsova beats Petkovic to advance at Porsche Grand Prix

Kuznetsova advances at Porsche GP

STUTTGART, Germany — Fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova has beat German qualifier Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix.

Kuznetsova wasted a match point in the second set Wednesday against the 143rd-ranked Petkovic, but the Russian bounced back and eventually won five straight games to help wrap up the match.

Kuznetsova is a three-time semifinalist in Stuttgart, but when it was still played on a hard indoor surface. Now, it’s the only indoor clay-court tournament on the circuit.

In another first-round match, Nadia Petrova of Russia, last year’s runner-up in Stuttgart, defeated Zheng Jie of China 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.