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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kuznetsova wins French Open

Top-ranked Safina still without Grand Slam title

Howard Fendrich Associated Press

PARIS – Svetlana Kuznetsova never struck Dinara Safina as a Grand Slam champion in the making when they were kids in Russia.

As of Saturday, Kuznetsova owns two major titles – and that’s two more than Safina can claim.

Far steadier, if not all that spectacular, Kuznetsova took advantage of the No. 1-ranked Safina’s assorted errors and won the French Open final 6-4, 6-2. Hardly a work of beauty, the 74-minute match ended with Safina’s seventh double-fault.

“She was too tight. She had so much pressure on her,” said Kuznetsova, who also won the 2004 U.S. Open. “I just played the match. It was just one more match. … Definitely it was a lot of emotions inside of me, but I control it.”

Not at the outset: She lost the first three points and was broken in the first game. Quickly, though, the seventh-seeded Kuznetsova took control, yanking Safina from side to side with the same powerful groundstrokes that eliminated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

More dispiriting to Safina, perhaps, was Kuznetsova’s defense.

Time and time again, Safina – sister of two-time major champion Marat Safin – delivered a hard, well-placed shot. And time and time again, Kuznetsova scrambled to get the ball over the net. If the champion seems to have a cyclist’s strong legs, it’s because she does: Kuznetsova’s father coached her mother to six world championships and her brother to an Olympic silver medal in that sport.

On a cloudy afternoon with the temperature in the low 50s, Kuznetsova also delighted spectators by showing off her soccer skills, juggling a tennis ball off her right foot and knee for several seconds. Her best work came with her racket, and she broke back at love to make it 1-all, then again to go ahead 5-3. Safina began that eighth game with a double-fault and rolled her eyes. As mistakes accumulated, she muttered to herself or smacked her left palm with her racket.

On match point, Safina’s second serve hit the net tape and popped up, sailing beyond the doubles alley.

“I was, like, ‘Oh, my God. Double-fault,’ ” Kuznetsova said.

After the double fault, Kuznetsova simply turned to make eye contact with her coach and supporters in the stands, then walked to the net for a handshake and kisses on the cheek.

At the other end of the court, Safina covered her forehead with her left hand – disbelief written all over her face – then spiked her racket.

“I was a little bit desperate on the court,” said Safina, who appeared to be fighting tears late in the match and during the on-court trophy presentation. “Didn’t stay tough mentally.”

Kuznetsova did, which hasn’t always been the case. Aside from her U.S. Open championship, also in an all-Russian final, Kuznetsova has her own history of faltering at key moments: She entered the day 10-18 in tournament finals.

Running through that list of setbacks, Kuznetsova noted one significant difference.

“I was calm,” she said. “It was similar feeling when I won the U.S. Open. I cannot explain it.”