Safina advances to second straight French final; Kuznetsova to be challenged

Top seed Dinara Safina has reached her second consecutive French Open final after winning to No. 20 seed Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets, and will face compatriot No. 7 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who went to three sets against No. 30 seed Samantha Stosur on Thursday in Paris.

Safina didn't have any trouble against her Slovakian opponent, as she won with a score of 63 63.

Before winning, Kuznetsova led 5-2 in the second set tiebreak, but then Stosur won it with a score of 7-5. The final set was won easily by Kuznetsova, ending the match with a score of 64 67(5) 63.

"Sam played so well in the tie-break. She took the risks and she made them. I give her credit," Kuznetsova said. "I stayed tough and won the third set. Even though I should have won the second set, I still kept playing. I didn't give up."

"I tried to the last point, but when you go down a break in the third, it's not easy to get it back," Stosur said. "I've played big matches before. I thought I handled the occasion really well. I felt really good out there mentally and physically, and I gave it my best shot. I don't think the occasion overwhelmed me."

Safina and Kuznetsova have a head-to-head result of 8-5, with Safina leading. But the record between the them on clay is 4-4, and 1-1 in Roland Garros.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Singles - Semifinals

(1) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. (20) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 63 63

(7) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. (30) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 64 67(5) 63