This year’s Roland Garros has seen some surprising names rise through the draw. However, the talk of the tournament has been Serena Williams’ quest for her 20th Grand Slam. The American remains on course and is now one win away from her milestone title–a feat which would put her third in the list of all-time grand-slam title winners after Margaret Court (with 24 titles) and Steffi Graf (with 22 titles).
Standing between Williams and her 20th Grand Slam title is #13 seed Lucie Safarova, who edged #7 seed and former champion Ana Ivanovic in two tight sets in her semifinal on Thursday to book her place in her first ever Grand Slam final. Not only will Williams be battling her Czech opponent but also her own health issues. The former champion looked at times exhausted in her previous matches, doubling over on court, coughing, and even vomiting at stages. With her health issues getting progressively worse with each match one has to wonder just how she will fare against Safarova in the final.
Due to a spreading virus affecting several of the players, this year’s Roland Garros has seen some shock defeats and some surprising names rising through the ranks with 13th seed Safarova being the story of the tournament after dumping out the reigning champ, Maria Sharapova, with ease in the 4th round.
Despite her previous best Grand Slam efforts of a Wimbledon semifinal, the Czech has always been criticized by her peers and the media for being an underachiever; sh may be perhaps the best player to never reach the top 10 in the women’s game. The 28 year old has gone from strength to strength throughout this fortnight in Paris, finally stepping out of the shadow of her compatriot Petra Kvitova to have her own moment in the sun.
Safarova has had the slightly easier route to the final. On paper she looked to have a tough road, facing very experienced opponents along the way including Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Sabine Lisicki, Maria Sharapova, and Ana Ivanovic. However, she all were dispatched with a new-found confidence and belief in herself. Safarova, despite her inexperience at Grand Slam level, has got to the final without dropping a set so far.
Unlike Safarova’s road to the final, Serena Williams has looked down and out in the majority of her matches throughout the fortnight–four times coming from a set down to carve out a victory and proving that her hunger for titles, despite her flu, is still ever-present.
The #1 seed reached her 24th Grand Slam final after defeating Swiss Timea Bacsinszky coming from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in front of a bemused Philippe-Chatrier crowd on Thursday. Serena also battled back from a one-set deficit against Anna-Lena Friedsam in the second round, against Azarenka in the third round, and against Slone Stephens in the fourth round. Stating in her press conference she’s been dealing with her illness for a week, she commented, “I got the flu after my third-round match and I’ve been really struggling ever since then. Hopefully this is the worst and I’ll get better from here.” Williams will not partake in any pre-match practice on Friday or the Saturday morning before the match, making sure her body is fully rested before playing one perhaps one of the toughest matches of her life.
Serena’s dramatic comeback win against Bacsinszky was her tenth successive Slam semifinal victory as the American remains on course to become the first woman since Monica Seles 23 years ago to win the US, Australian, and French Open titles successively. The potential for achievement will no doubt make for some more dramatic viewing when she faces Safarova in the final on Saturday.
The Czech veteran might have put out two former champions on route to her first final at the late age of 28, but the 13th seed will have a mountain to climb if she is to go all the way and beat the world #1–even with her hampering illness–to claim the title. Williams and Safarova have met on eight previous occasion, with the American dominating all of their previous encounters, many of which have gone the distance. Their most recent encounter was Beijing last year, the pair battled in out on the Asian hard-courts before Williams eventually prevailing.
Despite a 0-8 head-to-head record against Serena, Safarova is certainly having the tournament of her life. She will undoubtedly come out all guns blazing, but it will be hard to bet against Williams winning on Saturday. The World # has a winning record on her side and, as displayed on Thursday against Bacsinszky, she has the mentality of a champion.
Who will win? Will we see more history for an all-time great or a new champion emerge in this year’s French Open women’s final?
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