safina

Safina books second successive final slot

Last year’s beaten finalist Dinara Safina will get another chance to win the French Open after she defeated Dominika Cibulkova 6-3 6-3 in Thursday’s first semi-final. The Russian was nervous and far from her best, but her inexperienced Slovakian opponent did not possess the variety of shots to knock the top seed off her pedestal. Safina will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in a clay-court final for the third time this year, after losing in Stuttgart and winning the title in Rome. Safina had swept into the quarter-finals on the back of some incredibly dominant tennis, only to lose her rhythm in the last eight when it took her three sets to overcome the pugnacious Victoria Azarenka. Cibulkova was the surprise package, the diminutive Slovak taking advantage of upsets to Venus Williams and Nadia Petrova in her half of the draw to make her first ever Grand Slam semi-final. Fast start then change of tack Despite having lost their only two previous encounters, Cibulkova was quicker out of the blocks and opened up an immediate 2-0 lead, slicing two delicious drop-shots that the Russian could not reach. For some reason, the No20 seed then went away from variations in length and attempted to out-hit her Russian opponent – a strange tactic given Safina’s 20 centimetre height advantage. Fans of deft tennis were left ruing Cibulkova’s change of tack, as the match turned into a baseline battle from which the 1.80m Safina was always favourite to emerge victorious. The Russian was nervous on serve, as has often been the case in the past when the stakes have been high, and she often used the slice or the kick on her first service rather than taking risks. But with Cibulkova smashing everything back at her, she merely had to stay in rallies until the Slovak invariably netted a forehand. Nervous but comfortable Safina took five games in a row, playing safe tennis and waiting for Cibulkova to miss her spots at the end of rallies, and took the opening set at a relative canter 6-3, forcing the Slovak into 19 errors with her sheer strength. And unfortunately for the crowd, the diminutive Dominika continued to fight fire with fire in the second, despite it being a battle that she was unlikely to win. Safina’s service became even more shaky, with five more double faults coming, often on big points, to add to the two from the first set, but in truth she was never really stretched, breaking at 3-2 and coasting – nervously – home. Her previous two Grand Slam finals – here last year and at the Australian Open last January – saw Safina little more than a hollow shell due to lack of confidence, particularly against Serena Williams in Melbourne where she described herself as “little more than a ball girl on court”. She will have to silence the doubts in her mind on Saturday if she is to win her first ever Grand Slam – as befits a true world No1.

Safina not satisfied despite win

Dinara Safina today passed her first serious test at the French Open to stay on course for the Roland Garros title.

The Russian breezed through her opening four matches this tournament, dropping just five games on the way, but she was given the runaround at times today by ninth seed Victoria Azarenka in a riveting quarter-final.

Safina, the new world number one, finished the stronger to post a 1-6 6-4 6-2 victory on a sun-kissed Philippe Chatrier court but she admitted it could have been very different.

"She was playing well and I was doing nothing to complicate it for her," said Safina, who was pegged back to 4-4 at one stage in the second set.

"I was playing exactly in her zone, everything to the middle. At least I should have been holding my serve and putting pressure on the return.

"But then she started to miss more. I think she missed way too much today.

"I'm not really happy with my game."

Azarenka played a near-flawless first set, the Belorussian running Safina ragged on both wings with inch-perfect placement and consistency.

She was playing her first grand-slam quarter-final but she only started to tense up in the second set, and the errors suddenly came.

At 4-4, the 19-year-old was still in with a great chance of causing a shock.

"I just didn't take the chances I had," Azarenka admitted.

"She definitely stepped it up and played some good points at key moments, which I have to give her credit for.

"At 4-4 in the second set, I didn't really do anything with my game, which I should have. I just have to learn to play better in these moments. It's all experience."

Safina will meet 20th seed Dominika Cibulkova in the semi-finals.

The Slovakian ended Maria Sharapova's impressive run at Roland Garros by thrashing the former world number one 6-0 6-2 on Suzanne Lenglen court.

It threatened to get embarrassing for Sharapova, now 102 in the world after a shoulder injury - she faced a match point when 6-0 5-0 down.

"Everything fell a little short today," Sharapova said. "The pace wasn't there on my strokes.

"And she made me hit a lot of balls. She was very solid and did the right things to win."

Asked about how she felt when staring down the barrel at a whitewash, Sharapova said: "I don't really care about numbers. It's either a 'W' or an 'L'.

"If it's 7-6 in the third and you come out with a loss, what's the difference?"

Cibulkova needed several match points to finally see her more esteemed opponent off, and she admitted she was shocked to find herself in such a position.

"When I was 6-0 5-0 and 40-30, that's when I thought, 'What is happening?'," Cibulkova said.

"That's too much against Maria. That's maybe why I missed the first match point, because I was thinking too much."

Safina battles into semis

Top seed Dinara Safina came from a set down to defeat 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka and reach the French Open semi-finals.

The Russian was given the runaround in the first set and was at one stage being held at 4-4 in the second, but recovered her poise to eke out a 1-6 6-4 6-2 victory on Philippe Chatrier court.

She will play either Maria Sharapova or Dominika Cibulkova in the semi-finals and remains the title favourite after coming through her toughest match this tournament.

Ninth seed Azarenka, playing her first grand-slam quarter-final, had beaten Safina at Indian Wells earlier this year and had also won three titles in 2009, in Brisbane, Memphis and Miami.

She was therefore not overawed in the slightest and played an almost perfect first set, which lasted just 23 minutes.

Azarenka broke to 15 in the very first game and went 4-1 up when she grabbed a break on Safina's third service game.

The Belarussian was prospering under blue skies, her length and nagging consistency troubling Safina, who dropped her serve again in game seven to hand Azarenka the set.

Early in the second set, Safina suddenly found the form that had seen her lose just five games in her run to the quarters.

She broke in the third and fifth games, and would have been given further encouragement when Azarenka slammed her racquet down in disgust the moment she went 4-1 down.

The teenager fought back superbly to make it 4-4 but Safina rallied again to break and then hold to take the set.

Azarenka dropped serve in the first game of the third set and world number one Safina, who has yet to win a grand slam, finished the stronger to wrap up victory in an hour and 52 minutes.

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Azarenka was left to reflect on what might have been after bowing out of the Roland Garros event.

"I just didn't take the chances I had," she said.

"She (Safina) definitely stepped it up and played some good points at key moments, which I have to give her credit for.

"At 4-4 in the second set, I didn't really do anything with my game, which I should have.

"I just have to learn to play better in these moments. It's all experience. Hopefully I'll do better next time."

Safina holds nerve to secure Cibulkova semi

Top seed Dinara Safina overcame a stern challenge by Belarusian teenager Victoria Azarenka and powered into the semifinals with a 1-6 6-4 6-2 victory. Safina will face Slovakian upstart Dominica Cibulkova, who tore apart Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-2. Cool Safina Coolly composing herself after the world No. 9 tore the cover off the ball in the first set, Safina never let down her guard and watched Azarenka implode at the end of the second set and start of the third. Behind razor sharp groundstrokes, Azarenka was able to back Safina off the court during the first part of the match and came back from a 1-4 deficit in the second set to level at 4-4. But then she began playing too impatiently at key moments, and let the contest slip away. Safina broke Miami champion Azarenka to 5-4 in the second set, and then held on to win the set after the Belarusian committed three straight return of serve errors. The temperamental Azarenka then threw her racket to the ground twice and broke it, inciting boos and whistles from the crowd. The pattern continued in the third set, as Azarenka was unable to contend with Safina's change of directions on her groundstrokes and her own nerves. Azarenka consistently chided herself and was on the verge of tears for much of the set and fell under the weight of Safina's experience and greater faith in her shots. Missed chances “I think I just didn't take my chances, which I had,” Azarenka said. “I had a lot of chances, but she definitely stepped it up and played some good points on the key moments, which I have to give her all the credit. It was just something with my emotion. I didn't feel it. I didn't know what was going on. I have no idea.” Safina, who reached the final last year, has won 19 of her last 20 matches and was full of pride after the win, although not totally pleased with her performance. “If I will not fight in the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam and being No.1 in the world, then obviously I'm not deserving this spot,” she said. “I fight till the end. For me the match is never over. But I think today I still didn't play my game. This was not enough. It was enough, my fight, but I hope from the next match that I will play completely different and I'll start to dominate from the first point.” After contesting four three-set matches prior to taking the court against Cibulkova, Sharapova - who just returned to singles play after 10 months off due to a shoulder injury - looked tired trying to run down balls from the baseline. The 20-year-old Cibulkova played extremely steady and while she didn't serve particularly well, she adeptly moved the ball around until she could get into points. Enough is enough “I guess you could only ask your body to do so much,” Sharapova said. “Everything fell a little short today. The pace wasn't there on my strokes, and I was five steps slower today. I think everything kind of combines. The fact is that she just played really solid and made me hit a lot of balls, and I came up short today.” Cibulkova has lost two matches to Sharapova on clay last year, but was determined to extract revenge and controlled much of the action. However, she needed five match points to close the contest out, because in the final moments, she realized that the final four was within her grasp. “It was really tough, because when I was up 6-0 5-0 40-30, in this moment I realized what I can make. I realize I can beat Maria Sharapova 6-0 6-0 and to go to semifinals in a Grand Slam. I got shocked a little bit and I realized everything. But then she hit a great shot, so it was 5 2 and I knew that I was serving and I have to make this game, because then it will be really difficult, you know, if it will be 5-3 5-4. Then I can get really tight.”

Safina and Cibulkova power into quarters

Dinara Safina continued her steady march to her first Grand Slam title when she crushed France’s Aravane Rezai 6-1 6-0 to booked a place in the quarter-finals, where she was joined by the fast and scrappy Slovak Dominika Cibulkova, who cut down Agnes Szavay 6-2 6-4. The top-ranked Russian is off to her best result ever, losing only five games in four matches. Serving huge and cracking her ground strokes deep and to the corners, Safina nailed 12 winners to only four from the capable and hard-hitting Rezai. “Since I became No1, I’m feeling better and better,” said Safina, who will face the winner of the match between title holder Ana Ivanovic and No9 seed Victoria Azarenka. “At the beginning of the year when I came close to No1 it was too much pressure for me and I would go on court and think I can’t lose. Getting to No1 has taken the weight off my shoulders.” In besting Szavay for the fist time in four matches, the No20 seed Cibulkova won the battle from inside the baseline, playing far more consistently and creatively and not allowing the Hungarian to dictate to her. Cibulkova came into the tournament with little match play due to a groin injury, but the 20-year-old feels mentally refreshed and has impressively displayed the rapid, powerful game that has gained her five wins over top ten players to date. She became the first Slovak to reach the quarter-finals since Karina Habsudova in 1996 and will face the winner of the match between Maria Sharapova and Li Na. “I felt like I was going to cry, because I was just so happy,” said Cibulkova after the match. “I play tennis for these moments - it was just great, and you cannot even imagine when you win the match point.”