New world number one Ana Ivanovic ended the biggest week of her career on Saturday with her first Grand Slam trophy.
Second seed Ana Ivanovic defeated thirteenth seed Dinara Safina in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 at Roland Garros.
Saturday produced a nervous performance by both players, but in the end, Ivanovic ultimately conquered her personal demons and won the match on her first championship point.
It also ended the miraculous win streak of Dinara Safina, who has defeated former Grand Slam champions Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Svetlana Kuznetsova in only one month.
Immediately after her win Ivanovic burst into tears before climbing through the royal box to celebrate the victory with her family and support team. It was a dream come true for Ivanovic, who had previously lost to Henin at Roland Garros in 2007 and Maria Sharapova in January’s Australian Open final.
As the Serbian anthem played, Ivanovic continued to wipe away tears as she became the first Serbian woman to hold the No. 1 ranking and win a major.
Justine Henin, the newly retired four-time French Open champion, presented Ivanovic with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. Ironically, the last time Henin and Ivanovic were together on court at the Philippe Chatrier stadium, Henin was receiving the winner’s trophy, while Ivanovic was left waiting for a second chance.
Her golden opportunity came just twelve months later as she dominated for two weeks on the courts of Roland Garros. By virtue of her victory over Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals, she effectively gained enough points to rise to the top spot when the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings are released on Monday.
Ivanovic: unruffled; unfazed (actually smiling as she played a point)/vicious, accurate forehand; solid backhand/ ultimately more patient.
Safina: admitted to being tired (and who wouldn’t be after those comebacks)/first serve adequate but not overpowering/too many poorly struck chances on easy shots; too many awkward, risky shots/showed some good touch coming into court, the but could not maintain focus/rushed in the first set; overly emotional (angry) in the second.
Nice, placid, competent work from Ana, the new #1 female tennis player in the world.
Great achievement but the tennis was kind of dismal. Safina should of noticed the nerves of Ivanovic.
Too bad for Safina, but it brings her up in the rankings and gives her a HUGE confidence boost going into Wimbledon. Not sure if grass is her strength, though…she hasn’t made it past the 3rd round at that tournament, but possibly doubles will give her some good results.
BTW-what will the surface be for the Olympics?
Ana truly deserves the title she played fantastic tennis