Los Angeles, Aug 06: Ukrainian 14-year-old Viktoriya Kutuzova conquered her nerves and made her WTA Tour debut a memorable one, beating Russian Lina Krasnoroutskaya 6-4 6-4 in the first round of the 635,000-dollar hardcourt tournament here.
"It was my first time, my first tournament, my first match. She's a very good player. I was really nervous," saidthe lissome youngster, who in typical teen fashion was quick to point out she'll be 15 on August 19.

"I wasn't scared, just nervous, but that's normal. I can play with this," she said.
Kutuzova, who has spent time recently training at the Evert Academy in Florida, made her pro debut this year with three appearances in ITF events in Mississippi, Alabama and Evansville, Illinois, where she reached the semi-finals.
She appeared for the first time in the WTA rankings released on Monday, at number 451.



Before the match, Kutuzova said, she tried not to think about whether she could win.



"I was just focusing on my first game," she said. "I was talking to a lot of people and they told me, 'you can win.'"



By the time she served for the match Kutuzova admitted, she was imagining a triumphant phone call to her mother, who was back home with her five-year-old sister.



"I was playing the last point, and I was dreaming I was calling my mom and she was so happy, that was a motivation," Kutuzova said.


Bureau Report