Tennis matches can be viewed as chapters in a player’s life and the life stories of the four women semifinalists at this year’s French Open provide unique plots, making the matches all that much more intriguing.
The first of the women’s semifinals at Roland Garros will feature Serbian Ana Ivanovic against Czech Lucie Safarova while the other semifinal will feature American world #1 Serena Williams against the new Swiss Miss Timea Bacsinszky.
Ana Ivanovic is currently ranked #7 on the WTA tour. Ivanovic reached a career high of #4 in 2007, the year she won her only Grand Slam event at the French Open. Since that victory in Paris, Ivanovic has struggled at the big events. Although the Ivanovic forehand has always been her strength, her ball toss on her serve was inconsistent and caused her all sorts of problems when it came to holding serve. And as with many young players the accompanying pressure of winning a Slam showed in the Serbian’s game and she seemed to be missing the joy in the game that was always present in her matches.
2014 was a good year for Ivanovic, reaching #5 in the world, but she has had very erratic results so far in 2015. But it appears that back at Roland Garros the 27 year old has found her confidence and her game. Her forehand has been powerful and accurate doing all sorts of damage and her serve has been dependable to the point of getting her out of trouble several times. All that being said, a player’s on-court performance often reflects their personal life, and Ana’s personal life seems the be in a happy place. Her boyfriend, Bayern Munich star Bastian Schweinsteiger, has been watching from the stands cheering her on all the way. The question that remains is can she reclaim that glory from 8 years ago.
Standing in her way is 13th-ranked, 28 year old Lucie Safarova. Safarova has been firmly positioned in the top 30 women players for the last four years but she has struggled in the Grand Slam tournaments, only making it past the round of 16 once where in 2014 she reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. The Czech lefty also has a dominant forehand but her serve has been a weakness in the past. Previously coached by her father, she is now coached by Canadian Rob Steckley. Steckley firmly believes Safarova belongs in the top five with her all around game, and his belief seems to be rubbing off on his player. The two have formed a solid coach and student relationship with Steckley showing the ability to manage his player’s emotions. Safarova is also an accomplished doubles player and with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands, the two have knocked off the #1 seeds, Hingis and Mirza, and find themselves in the doubles semis as well.
So in this semi, it remains to be seen if Ivanovic can return to the former glory she had 8 years ago or if Safarova can finally reach the breakthrough she has been trying to hit for many years.
The second semifinal also features intriguing storylines. Serena Williams, the current #1, is trying to surpass Steffi Graff’s record of 22 singles Grand Slam titles. In Australia this year Williams won her 19th major singles title, passing both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova who both hold 18 titles. Three of William’s matches have gone to three sets as she started each match by dropping the first set and then rallying to win the final two sets. Against an opponent like Timea Bacsinszky, who has come out firing in all of her matches, this could be a dangerous mistake. But Williams has shown time and time again that she is one of the greatest competitors in the sport and is never out of a match until it’s over.
Bacsinszky finds herself in the French Open semifinals for the first time and is probably just as surprised as tennis fans. After a successful junior career under the watchful eye of an oppressive father, Bacsinszky stepped away from the game to pursue a normal life. But the game called her back; she returned to the game a more mature person and player who had made peace with her past and rekindled her passion for tennis. Already in 2015 she has won two titles and reached a career high ranking of #24. The top Swiss player’s game has power and touch, but most importantly it has variety–and she is using that variety to confuse opponents as she plays what can only be described as fearless tennis. The best part of watching her is the pure joy on her face as she uses all facets of her game.
So this semi features the #1 player in the world aiming to become a step closer to all-time records versus a player who is only just beginning to realize all her potential.
No matter what happens on semi final Thursday tennis fans should be in for two intriguing match ups that will set the stage for the women’s 2015 final.
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