Svetlana Kuznetsova Wins French Open

5 months ago 07th Jun 12:23

Svetlana Kuznetsova saw off the challenge from Dinara Safina to claim her first French Open in an all Russian final.

The seventh seed controlled her emotions and dealt with the occasion much better than her opponent to win in straight sets 6-4 6-2 as the world number one’s wait for a Grand Slam title goes on.

The beginning of the match was a nervous affair as both players traded breaks in the early games but it was Kuznetsova who settled first to gain control of herself and the match.

It was a different story on the other side of the net as Safina struggled with her own serve and frustration began to show early on as she wasn’t allowed to dictate the play, something we have been so used to seeing throughout the tournament.

Safina was hoping to cement herself as the world number one with her maiden Grand Slam title after losing to Ivanaovic in last year’s final as well as losing heavily to Serena Williams at the Australian Open back in January.

And it was Kuznetsova who clinched the first set as she fired home a massive forehand for a winner to move a step closer to the title.

Into the second and the first four games went with serve as they were locked together at 2-2 and it looked like Safina might be getting into the match.

However that didn’t last long as Safina crumbled under the weight of expectation as her serve disappeared and double faults littered her game.

On the other side of the net it was a different story as Kuznetsova held her nerve in impressive style, she is already a Grand Slam title picking up the US Open five years ago.

And after holding her serve in the first two games Safina wouldn’t win another game as Kuznetsova powered forward. But the match was to finish on a downer as Safina faced match point on her serve only to produce a double fault handing Kuznetsova the title.

For Safina the wait for her first Grand Slam title goes on as this is the third final that has seen her crumble under the pressure.

This win sees the return of Kuznetsova to the top flight of women’s tennis after several years in the wilderness as she struggled to live up to the high expectations after her win at the U.S Open.

The seventh seed ran into the stands to celebrate with her team and her supporters. She now becomes a player to watch at Wimbledon, could she do the double?