PARIS (TICKER) —A new Grand Slam champion will be crowned Saturday when Ana Ivanovic meets Dinara Safina in the French Open women’s final.
The second-seeded Ivanovic is making her third appearance in a major championship while Safina, the No. 13 seed, is in her maiden Grand Slam final.
It’s been a remarkable tournament for both players, but for different reasons.
Ivanovic advanced to the final on Thursday with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over fellow Serbian and third seed Jelena Jankovic.
The second-seeded Ivanovic is making her third appearance in a major championship while Safina, the No. 13 seed, is in her maiden Grand Slam final.
It’s been a remarkable tournament for both players, but for different reasons.
Ivanovic advanced to the final on Thursday with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over fellow Serbian and third seed Jelena Jankovic.
That win ensured that Ivanovic will overtake Maria Sharapova as the world No. 1 when the new rankings are released Monday. Not a bad bonus for the 20-year-old, who hopes to cap the week in style with her first Grand Slam title.
The 14th-ranked Safina, meanwhile, has guaranteed herself a return to the top 10 with an astounding effort in this major - an event she said “God has kept me in.”
The 22-year-old Russian completed an improbable run to the championship match Thursday with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Safina had advanced to the semifinals of this claycourt major with consecutive upsets of the top-seeded Sharapova and No. 7 Elena Dementieva. In both of those three-set victories, she was down 5-2 in the second set and survived a match point, before emerging a winner.
“Of course it’s a new experience for me,” said Safina, who had never been beyond the quarterfinals in a major prior to this. “I don’t want to think about (the final) at the moment. I still have some time (Friday evening), and then I will sit with my coach and we’re going to speak about the match.
“I think what has happened these last two weeks has been really good, and it’s just one more step to go. I just want to give everything that I have left inside me.”
She insists she is in good shape heading into the final despite her grueling run at Roland Garros.
“Actually, I’m feeling pretty good,” Safina said. “I recovered well after those two tough matches. Yesterday it was a little bit easier.”
Her run at Roland Garros, which guarantees her the No. 9 ranking regardless of her effort in the title match, is just the latest accomplishment in what has been a breakout season.
Safina also was a surprise winner at last month’s German Open in Berlin - the biggest title of her career to date - after defeating former No. 1 Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Dementieva en route to the crown.
She is 1-2 in her career against Ivanovic, though the pair have not seen each other since the Montreal semifinals in 2006. Safina won their only claycourt meeting in straight sets when they met in Berlin three years ago.
Safina’s older brother, Marat Safin, is a two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1. The pair will become the only brother-sister combination in the Open era to have each won a major championship if Safina can complete her run here.
While Safina is arguably the emerging star of the women’s game, Ivanovic’s stock has been high for the past couple of years, and a win on Saturday would see her finally deliver on her undoubted talent.
Since winning her first Tier I title in Montreal in 2006, Ivanovic has notched four additional WTA crowns and reached the finals of two Grand Slams - last year’s French, and this year’s Australian Open.
But humbling, straight-set defeats in those finals have given rise to concerns over Ivanovic’s big-game temperament.
Even a run to the final four at Roland Garros without dropping a set failed to dispel the mutterings of those who feel the Serbian lacks the necessary all-round game to win the biggest titles in tennis. But her win over Jankovic in the semifinals likely silenced some of her doubters.
That win demonstrated Ivanovic’s battling qualities, first recovering from 0-3 down to win the opening set before working tirelessly to win the decisive third after Jankovic had leveled things on the back of a seven-game winning streak.
She said her loss to Henin in the final here last will serve her well Saturday.
“The other day someone asked me, ‘Are you going to forget the (2007) final and play a different one?’” Ivanovic said. “But I don’t want to forget it, because it was a great learning experience.
“I learned a lot from Justine and the emotions I was feeling going on the court. So I really hope I can work hard on it and play different this year. … I gained a lot of experience from that final and the final in Australia, so I really hope I can step up this time and make one more step.”
The 22-year-old Russian completed an improbable run to the championship match Thursday with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Safina had advanced to the semifinals of this claycourt major with consecutive upsets of the top-seeded Sharapova and No. 7 Elena Dementieva. In both of those three-set victories, she was down 5-2 in the second set and survived a match point, before emerging a winner.
“Of course it’s a new experience for me,” said Safina, who had never been beyond the quarterfinals in a major prior to this. “I don’t want to think about (the final) at the moment. I still have some time (Friday evening), and then I will sit with my coach and we’re going to speak about the match.
“I think what has happened these last two weeks has been really good, and it’s just one more step to go. I just want to give everything that I have left inside me.”
She insists she is in good shape heading into the final despite her grueling run at Roland Garros.
“Actually, I’m feeling pretty good,” Safina said. “I recovered well after those two tough matches. Yesterday it was a little bit easier.”
Her run at Roland Garros, which guarantees her the No. 9 ranking regardless of her effort in the title match, is just the latest accomplishment in what has been a breakout season.
Safina also was a surprise winner at last month’s German Open in Berlin - the biggest title of her career to date - after defeating former No. 1 Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Dementieva en route to the crown.
She is 1-2 in her career against Ivanovic, though the pair have not seen each other since the Montreal semifinals in 2006. Safina won their only claycourt meeting in straight sets when they met in Berlin three years ago.
Safina’s older brother, Marat Safin, is a two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1. The pair will become the only brother-sister combination in the Open era to have each won a major championship if Safina can complete her run here.
While Safina is arguably the emerging star of the women’s game, Ivanovic’s stock has been high for the past couple of years, and a win on Saturday would see her finally deliver on her undoubted talent.
Since winning her first Tier I title in Montreal in 2006, Ivanovic has notched four additional WTA crowns and reached the finals of two Grand Slams - last year’s French, and this year’s Australian Open.
But humbling, straight-set defeats in those finals have given rise to concerns over Ivanovic’s big-game temperament.
Even a run to the final four at Roland Garros without dropping a set failed to dispel the mutterings of those who feel the Serbian lacks the necessary all-round game to win the biggest titles in tennis. But her win over Jankovic in the semifinals likely silenced some of her doubters.
That win demonstrated Ivanovic’s battling qualities, first recovering from 0-3 down to win the opening set before working tirelessly to win the decisive third after Jankovic had leveled things on the back of a seven-game winning streak.
She said her loss to Henin in the final here last will serve her well Saturday.
“The other day someone asked me, ‘Are you going to forget the (2007) final and play a different one?’” Ivanovic said. “But I don’t want to forget it, because it was a great learning experience.
“I learned a lot from Justine and the emotions I was feeling going on the court. So I really hope I can work hard on it and play different this year. … I gained a lot of experience from that final and the final in Australia, so I really hope I can step up this time and make one more step.”
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