Kuznetsova rallies for 3-set win over Bacsinszky at Lugano

LUGANO, Switzerland (AP) — Two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova rallied from a set and a service break down to beat Timea Bacsinszky 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Samsung Open on Thursday.

Playing in her first tournament in more than six months, Kuznetsova, 33, passed her second two-hour test on Lugano’s clay courts.

Kuznetsova, ranked No. 109, got the key break early in the third set against Bacsinszky, another injury-hit former top-10 player now ranked No. 112.

Two more seeded players lost Thursday, leaving eighth-seeded Vera Lapko as the only one left in the quarterfinals.

Lapko won 6-2, 6-0 against Evgeniya Rodina, while third-seeded Viktoria Kuzmova was beaten 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 by Iga Swiatek, the Wimbledon junior champion.

Seventh-seeded Rebecca Peterson lost 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) to Veronika Kudermetova.