‘04 champ Kuznetsova loses to Wozniacki

NEW YORK — Caroline Wozniacki had just finished knocking off two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova when the inevitable question came: What will it be like to play 17-year-old American Melanie Oudin at the American Grand Slam tournament?

“Hopefully,” Wozniacki said, “someone from the crowd will cheer for me.”

The No. 9-seeded Wozniacki of Denmark beat No. 6 Kuznetsova 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) Monday night to reach her first major quarterfinal. Wozniacki’s next opponent is also making her debut at this stage: Oudin, who is ranked 70th and upset No. 13 Nadia Petrova in three sets earlier Monday.

“She’s had an amazing run,” Wozniacki said about Oudin.

All four of the players left on their half of the draw will be playing in the round of eight at a Grand Slam event for the first time. The others are 50th-ranked Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium and 52nd-ranked Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine.

At 19, Wozniacki is the youngest woman ranked in the top 20. She also leads the tour in victories this season.

Against Kuznetsova, who won the 2004 U.S. Open and this year’s French Open, Wozniacki managed to win despite hitting only 16 winners.

Kuznetsova produced 59 winners, but she also made 63 unforced errors — 38 more than Wozniacki.

“I just hit too many unforced errors, and I could not control my emotions,” Kuznetsova said. “And I wanted it so much.”

Asked how she thinks Wozniacki might fare against Oudin, Kuznetsova replied: “I don’t know. I don’t really care.”