Svetlana Kuznetsova upset by Carla Suarez Navarro at Indian Wells

As her tennis deteriorated, as her ability to put the tennis ball inside the lines of the tennis court failed, Svetlana Kuznetsova let her emotions also fly out of bounds. She mumbled to herself and threw a racket, and neither expression of her frustration helped the top-seeded woman in the BNP Paribas Open draw.

Kuznetsova was upset by Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Suarez Navarro, who upset Venus Williams at the 2009 Australian Open, didn’t do anything spectacular other than stay safely behind the baseline and keep putting balls over the net.

“She is in, out, in, out,” Suarez said. “So I think, I know, she’s so-so.”

Suarez Navarro’s imperfect English explained Kuznetsova’s unreliability Saturday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

It was a much easier day for 14th-seeded Kim Clijsters. Clijsters, the defending U.S. Open champion who was enjoying retirement at this time last year, needed 57 minutes to beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-2, 6-1.

Clijsters found nothing threatening from the game of Strycova, 23, who is ranked 72nd in the world and who was willing to feed balls to Clijsters’ powerful forehand.

Also moving along without much trouble was third-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who beat Sybille Bammer, 6-1, 7-5, and sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, who beat Petra Martic of Croatia, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

In a night match, defending champion and 12th-seeded Vera Zvonareva played Sloane Stephens, a 16-year-old from Rancho Palos Verdes who is ranked 747th in the world.

Clijsters said the desert wind, which was kicking up sand and swirling so much on the Stadium 1 court that little collections of trash were forming funnels, kept her from playing her absolute best. But it was hard to notice.

“Conditions were pretty tough out there, but overall I felt good. My legs felt fresh,” Clijsters said. “I think that it’s important in a match like this to get through without wasting too much time out there and getting a good rhythm.”

Rhythm was what Kuznetsova was missing.

“I’d play the right things,” Kuznetsova said, “but I miss every time by a little. I practice, I do hit these balls right, you know? But when you’re a little bit nervous, tense, it’s a little bit tough for you.”

Kuznetsova, 24, is the defending French Open champion, and she also has a U.S. Open title. She is ranked third in the world behind Serena Williams and Dinara Safina, yet Saturday, Kuznetsova said she couldn’t corral her mind or her shots.

“I’m like, ‘OK, I play tennis for like 17 years and I still cannot put this little ball in this huge court.’ It’s frustrating. I’m not the worst player in the world, so I definitely have expectation from myself to put a little bit more inside of the court.”

She will have to work on that for another day, though.

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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