The 2009 French Open women’s singles draw took a surprising turn on Wednesday when second seed and title favorite Serena Williams was beaten in three sets by Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Can Kuznetsova keep her Grand Slam run alive in the semifinals? If so, who will meet her in Saturday’s championship match?
Dinara Safina continues to back up her status as the best player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. (© ShawnnaLea Zemanek)
Dinara Safina dropped a set for the first time in the quarterfinals, but at the end of the day, it didn’t really matter. Safina is proving that she’s not just the best player on clay this season with fifteen straight match wins, but in most people’s minds, she is emphatically the number one player in the world. She even received a vote of confidence from an unlikely source, Serena Williams. “I already think she’s definitely authenticated as the world No. 1,” Williams said on Wednesday. “She’s there.”
Now that Williams is out, Safina is assured of staying at the top after Paris. However, standing in the way of her first Grand Slam as No. 1 is Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova. Cibulkova played solid, aggressive tennis against Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, but did seem to lose her concentration late in the second set. If she can keep her errors down—as she did against Sharapova—improve her first serve, and most importantly stay calm, she might be able to take a set off Safina.
Prediction: Dinara Safina in 2 sets
Svetlana Kuznetsova is one of the most well-liked players on the Tour. (© PHOTOSPORT.COM)
Often you can look at a player’s career and pinpoint one match that marked a turning point. I believe that Wednesday’s match might have been a significant one in the life of Svetlana Kuznetsova. For months, Kuznetsova has been overshadowed by her inability to close out big matches, win finals, or resist the urge to choke under pressure.
But Sveta put all that behind her in her quarterfinal against Serena, which often delivered the drama of a final. She had match points early on, and just like most people expected, she blew them. But instead of withering and drooping her head and shoulders in that too familiar slump, Kuznetsova kept grinding . . . until she finally accomplished one of her biggest wins in months, if not years. Yes, she’s still two matches from the title, but if even if she were to lose in the semifinals, she can still hold her head up proudly after finally living up to her potential again.
After expending so much energy and mental strength to get past Serena, one wonders just how much Sveta has left in the tank. Samantha Stosur had a far easier time reaching the semis with a straightforward win over Sorana Cirstea, so I expect her to come out swinging. But if Svetlana can somehow remember what she did on Wednesday, dig deep, and remind her still fragile psyche that she is after all already a Grand Slam champion, I think we’ll see her reach her fourth major final.
Prediction: Svetlana Kuznetsova in 3 sets
