Tennis: Shahar Pe'er lines up Kuznetsova matchup

The two will face off in the second round of the Sydney International on Tuesday.

By ALLON SINAI
peer 224.88 (photo credit: AP)
peer 224.88
(photo credit: AP)
Shahar Pe'er will face world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round of the Sydney International on Tuesday after defeating qualifier Yuliana Fedak 6-3, 6-2 on Monday. The 20-year-old Israeli lost her last meeting against Kuznetsova in last year's French Open, but beat the Russian in their two previous encounters. On Monday, Pe'er (17) dominated her match against Fedak (119), breaking her opponent four times on her way to an easy win. Tzipi Obziler (79) fell at the first hurdle in Sydney, losing 6-2, 6-3 to Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin (13). The 34-year-old Israeli, who only reached the main draw as a lucky loser after losing in the final round of qualifying on Sunday, struggled against the superior Golovin and was broken four times on Monday. Also Monday, Daniela Hantuchova's career revival continued and Russian Ana Chakvetadze, the No. 5 seed, was the first upset loser. Chakvetadze lost 7-5, 6-1 to Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia while the sixth-seeded Hantuchova recovered from a set and service break down to beat compatriot Dinara Safina 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Hantuchova won her second and third career titles in 2007 at Indian Wells and Linz, moving back into the top 10 at No. 9 after a five-year absence. Dudi Sela (66) is still searching for his first win of 2008 after losing 6-4, 7-6 (3) to Julien Benneteau (74) in the first round in Auckland, New Zealand. The 22-year-old, who lost last week in the first round at Adelaide, had his chances on Monday, but converted just two of his 14 break points. Meanwhile, top ranked Roger Federer said he has a severe stomach virus and has pulled out of an exhibition tournament less than a week away from the Australian Open. Federer told officials at the Kooyong Classic on Monday that he became ill after arriving in Australia last Friday from his training base in Dubai. AP contributed to this report.