LADIES FRENCH OPEN TENNIS REVIEW, SERENA BEATS BACSINSZKY & IVANOVIC LOSES TO SAFAROVA & MORE BY CHERYL JONES

Written by: Staff on 4th June 2015

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

LADIES FRENCH OPEN TENNIS REVIEW, SERENA BEATS BACSINSZKY & IVANOVIC LOSES TO SAFAROVA & MORE BY CHERYL JONES

epa04783348 Serena Williams of the USA reacts as she plays against Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland during their semifinal match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2015. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT |

All Set

By Cheryl Jones

Roland Garros is host to the first two Swiss players to advance to the Semifinals in a major since Roger Federer and Patty Schnyder made it to that level in Australia in 2004. In one of today’s featured matches, Timea Bacsinszky, (Switzerland’s most highly ranked woman player), faced America’s Serena Williams. Tomorrow, a Swiss man, Stan Wawrinka will be on the court across from France’s, JoWilfried Tsonga.

When the sun sets over Paris today, the last two women standing, after two weeks of intense play here in Paris have been cast in the roles they and 126 others set out to snag when they first walked through the gates at the oldest of the Grand Slams. That afore mentioned sun has been shining brightly all day and is doing its very best to bake the moisture out of the terre battue that has been more moist than usual thanks to a very wet and long Paris spring. The dusty clay is doing its familiar sifting through the air with each bounce of the ball. Excitement has finally accompanied each grain of ground-up red brick that breaks loose and floats, trying to cling to the fuzzy yellow balls. Up to now, it’s been business as usual in Paris. There have been surprises in the outcomes of matches, but the ambience has seemed flat. Today was different. It was as if the heat and a slight breeze were reminiscing so intently that they brought the entire venue to life.

It won’t be two former champions meeting in the Women’s Final on Saturday. In the first match of the day, former champ, Ana Ivanovic lost a close match when she was defeated by Czech, Lucie Safarova, 7-5, 7-5. The crowd was noisily behind Ivanovic from start to finish, but she couldn’t manage to pull far enough away from Safarova to make much of a dent in the Czech’s steady game. Ivanovic looked tentative throughout the match. There was no hint of theatrics on-court. It was steady play from both women. Safarova just played smarter.

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in action against Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic during their semifinal match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2015. EPA/CAROLINE BLUMBERG

After the match Ivanovic spoke about her performance. The match took nearly two hours – one hour fifty-two minutes, to be exact. Ivanovic started by winning three games, and must have felt she had a lock on the outcome, but Safarova would have none of that. First she took one game then let Ivanovic take the next. Then she took another game and Ivanovic took the next. Then she won the next four games to take the set. The second set was a bit more of a give and take, but Safarova took the last two games and with that, took away Ivanovic’s chances at another title in Roland Garros. Afterward, Ivanovic said, “I really started well, like every other match, I really had a good plan coming into the match, but I just felt like I ran a little bit out of gas. I started dropping short and she played really, really well. She was very aggressive. You know, to be on that level I need a little bit better footwork, and I kind of was lacking that. Also, (there was) “explosivity” in my serve. I’m really proud of what I achieved these two weeks.”

From my vantage point, high in the stands, what I saw was a repeat of previous serving performances by the Serbian, Ivanovic. When she gets tight, somehow she ends up tossing the ball so that its arc ends up behind her. Trying to reach for those balls is virtually impossible. The number of balls struck into the net told the story of her defeat. As she said, she needs to work on a few more points, if her game is going to be worthy of the competition on the women’s tour. She’s a polite young woman who was complimentary of Safarova’s effort as she said, “I think at some point it was high-quality match and lots of long rallies. She played really well. She was tough. She had few nervous mistakes in the end, but other than that, she was really solid.”

Safarova must have thought she was in a dream. Her number 13 ranking has been a lucky one for her; at least it has been here in Paris. This is her eleventh main draw appearance at Roland Garros. Never before has she gone beyond the round of 16. This time, she has reached the final, and now she will have to stare at Serena Williams across the net.

Bacsinszky tried her very best to erase Williams’ chance for another championship at Roland Garros. Williams has won two grand prizes in Paris (2002 and 2013) and now heads for her third. The Semifinal matchup in Court Philippe Chatrier that began soon after Safarova waved to the crowd with an enormous smile on her face, began in an interesting, only Serena way.

Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland in action against Serena Williams of the USA during their semifinal match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2015. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT

Bacsinszky took the first set 6-4, with Williams looking ill and dramatically flopping in her chair during the changeovers. The match took just two minutes longer than the Ivanovic/Safarova match, but the theatrics were so exasperating to observe that it seemed much longer. It was almost as if she had the “vapours”, which I think was an exaggerated malady where women fainted because of something they were unable to cope with. (A few years ago at Wimbledon, she set out to contest a doubles match with partner, sister Venus and she literally seemed dizzy and disoriented. Venus was smart enough to default and save the day.) Today’s performance was quickly abandoned as she took the second set and the third. In the process, she won the last 10 games of the match, for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory that will afford her the opportunity to take her play to new heights. If she wins, she will have mowed through many competitors to take home twenty wins at majors. (In the Open Era, only Steffi Graf has more, with 22.)

Three set matches must be her theme song. It is not an unknown territory for her, as she has now recovered from dropping the first set to win a match thirty-three times at a Grand Slam. (It’s the most for any active players.) There are accolades galore to record, but an Internet search engine will provide that information for anyone who is interested. This was the twenty-seventh Grand Slam Semifinal of her career. And she has won the last nine in which she competed. That’s huge.

Serena will come to play on Saturday. Safarova will be there too. After her win this afternoon, she received many congratulations from other players. Dinara Safina tweeted – “You’re the nicest girl on the tour.” The matchup should bring out the best in both players. Lucie Safarova has the right idea though. She said, “I think sport should be about fair play. I think people should be nice to each other. Doesn’t matter if it’s in sports or in general. That’s what I’m trying to do, even here. “ Let’s hope her opponent feels the same.

Topics: Ana Ivanovic, Cheryl Jones, French Open Tennis, Lucie Safarova, Paris, Roland Garros 2015, Serena Williams, Sports, Timea Bacsinszky

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

June 4, 2015 at 1:39 pm

LADIES #FrenchOpen #TENNIS REVIEW, @serenawilliams BEATS @TimiBacs & @AnaIvanovic LOSES TO @luciesafarova- http://t.co/0M4MZ3JZ2t #RG15