LUCIE SAFAROVA AND SERENA WILLIAMS BOTH BATTLE INTO THE FRENCH OPEN TENNIS FINALS IN PARIS BY GLOBAL CHICK

Safarova and Williams battle into the French Open final

 

After what had been quite a turbulent year for the 2008 champion, Ana Ivanovic looked like she was going to breeze into the Roland Garros final, on a beautiful day in Paris. No whirlwinds whipping up the clay, no hoardings flying around. The only thing that was flying was Ivanovic’s forehands, as Safarova understandably started off the more nervous of the two.

 

But we’d be lying if we said we did not expect some kind of galvanisation from the Czech, in just her second Grand Slam semi-final, and looking at a place in the World Top 10 next week for the first time in her career.

 

Five games on the bounce and Safarova put a major dent in Ivanovic’s new found confidence after a slow start to the tournament, having to come back twice from a set down in her first two matches. No such dramas for Safarova although she has come out on the winning end of five tie-break sets coming onto the semi-final, before stealing the first set 7-5. Seven must be her lucky number.

 

Any sign of nerves looked to be long gone as Ivanovic’s confident start evaporated in the heat of a Parisian afternoon, as everything she tried came to nowt [/quaint British phrase]. Somehow, from somewhere, Ivanovic dredged up a hold to stay in contention, clinging on to the hope of her first Grand Slam final in seven years.

 

Safarova had to come out and serve for the place in the final… and started with a double-fault. Fingernails were being chewed, and perhaps here experience might just play a part, although a couple of wayward shots from Ivanovic put Safarova within two points of the final. Another double fault gifted Ivanovic a break point to give the Serbian a fighting chance.

 

Match-point number one and another double-fault and by now I had abandoned chewing on my nails and was settling for the actual fingers with Ivanovic saving a match point, and finally converting on her fourth break-point. Could she do pull it into three sets? Not quite as she gave the break straight back to Safarova, and around we went again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 minutes after her first match point, another two presented themselves to the Czech with one being squandered via a long forehand. The tricky leftie serve out wide was what did it, as she clobbered a forward into a wide open court and thus, into your first Grand Slam final you go Lucie!

 

With reports of Serena Williams doubled over coughing in training, and actually looking a little disorganised walking on court, it was interesting to see which Serena showed up. It was a clearly distracted Williams who was broken by Bacsinszky to give us the merest hint of an upset. The Swiss was serving up a storm while Williams was struggling to move from static to… slightly less static.

 

So would you have any money on Williams running off first four games to steal the second set, and then six games more to win the match and book a place in the final and be just one win away from her 20th Grand Slam title? That is exactly what she did, thus ending the latest chapter of Bacsinszky’s fascinating come-back story as Williams eyes up her third title in Paris. That is, if she can ditch the cold that at times made her look like the walking dead out on court as she tried to cool herself down at each change of ends with the ice towels.

 

Williams had to skip her scheduled press conference releasing the following statement:

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it to press this evening. I have been feeling unwell for a few days, and after this tough match against Timea, I needed to see the tournament doctor. I am proud to be back in the final here at Roland Garros, in a city that means so much to me, and am determined to be 100 percent ready for the final against Lucie on Saturday.”

 

Meanwhile Safarova knows she has a tough battle regardless of whether Williams is in tip-top form or not.

 

“That’s a tough question,” she said. “I mean, Serena is No.1 in the world, and a great player. Whoever will be there, I will just go there and play my game, and try to get the trophy.”

 

Of course on Friday we have the men and this time the French Federation have put Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the first match after he struggled to get going in 2013, following the hotly anticipated Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic, which many believed should have been the final. The same may be true this time as Andy Murray and Djokovic square off once more in their second Slam in a row.

 

Play on Chatrier begins at 1pm CET.

Topics: Ana Ivanovic, French Open Tennis, global chick, Lucie Safarova, Paris, Roland Garros, Serena Williams, Timea Bacsniszky

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