Serena Williams makes a return to Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland during their semi-final match at the French Open yesterday. Serena won 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 and will face rising Czech Lucie Safarova (left) in the women’s final tomorrow. Safarova beat Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in the other last four clash. (Reuters)
DPA/Paris
Lucie Safarova reversed the momentum against a surging Ana Ivanovic to halt the seventh seed’s progress on the way to a 7-5, 7-5 win and a place in a first Grand Slam final, at the French Open yesterday.
The Czech 13th seed will face world number one Serena Williams, who beat back the challenge of Swiss comeback queen Timea Bacsinszky, whose progress after almost quitting the game in 2013 to enrol in a hotel management course has been the talk of the second week.
Safarova becomes the first woman from her country to reach a Roland Garros final since 1981 champion Hana Mandlikova. She finished with 36 winners while 2008 Paris champion Ivanovic was weighed down by 35 unforced errors, a wonky serve and shotmaking which faded away after a torrid start for a 5-2 first-set lead.
“This is a dream come true, I still cannot believe it,” said Safarova, who reached the Saturday title match without the loss of a set. “I started a bit slowly, so I had to keep up my level by playing aggressively. It was the only way to get this win. This is all just unbelievable.”
Ivanovic had been hoping to recreate the magic moment of her career as she played in her first final at a Grand Slam since her clay trophy run in Paris seven years ago.
“I really started well, I really had a good plan coming into the match, but I just felt like I ran a little bit out of gas,” said Ivanovic. “I started dropping short and she played really, really well.
“She was very aggressive. I need a little bit better footwork, and I kind of was lacking that. Also explosivity in my serve. But I’m really proud of what I achieved these two weeks.”
The Swiss-based Ivanovic raced off to a 5-2 lead, having held points earlier to make it a potential 5-1. But at that moment, something seemed to click for Sarafova, who began a comeback.
The Czech broke in the ninth and 11th games as Ivanovic’s confidence ebbed after two doubles faults to trail 5-6. Safarova served out the set after 46 minutes to love, firing an ace on the first of three sets points.
In the second, a desperate Ivanovic, watching her victory chances slip away, lost serve to fall behind 2-1.
Safarova’s understandable nerves came into play as she served for the win leading a set and 5-4.
The game, which lasted for nearly 10 minutes, was drama-packed, with Ivanovic saving a match point and breaking for 5-5 on her fourth chance from a Safarova net cord out.
But the Czech held her nerve in the next game to break, and concluded the win on a third match point in the ensuing game from a forehand inside-out winner. Safarova has now beaten Ivanovic in six of nine career meetings after her latest effort in just under two hours.
In the other last four match, an ailing Serena stayed on course for a 20th Grand Slam singles title as
she came back from the brink to reach the final with a 4-6 6-3 6-0 win against Swiss power-hitter Bacsinszky.
The American, who looked unwell throughout the match, putting iced towels around her neck and against her forehead at changeovers, fell a set and a break down as the 23rd-seeded Bacsinszky peppered the court with backhand winners.
But Williams, who won Roland Garros in 2002 and 2013, dug deep to break back and Bacsinszky cracked, losing 10 games in a row.
Williams closed it out when Bacsinszky sent a backhand long.
