Sport

Saranova through to first grand slam final

Date: Jun 5, 2015

As Thursday’s first women’s semi-final between Lucie Safarova and Ana Ivanovic unfolded on Philippe-Chatrier Court, it quickly became apparent that psychology, rather than strokes, would be the most significant determining factor in the result.

In Safarova, you had a player gunning for her first ever spot in a Grand Slam final after 12 years as a pro, and who had never before advanced this deep in Paris. In Ivanovic, you had a player who, after a seven-year absence from major semi-final action, was bidding to achieve a result that much earlier in her career was something of a routine occurrence.

With progression, revival and a huge prize all on the line, it made for an at-times excruciatingly tense, if not compelling match.

One that Safarova won 7-5, 7-5.

She sizzled a final off-forehand winner beyond Ivanovic and collapsed on her back in the clay, elated after having two games earlier been beset by nerves as she attempted to serve out the match at 5-4. Safarova said there was still some disbelief at the result. "It's slowly sinking in and it's just amazing. The happiness is unreal," she said.

"In the second set, I think when I realised that I finally can be in the finals, I got a little bit tense there. The game at 5-4 I was really like overthinking and couldn't really concentrate to be there in the moment. My serve wasn't working, and, yes, it was a little bit fighting with everything on the court at that moment. But when I lost the serve I, like, shake it off and started to play aggressive again, and then I served it out."

The real anxiety of the day well and truly belonged to Ivanovic. Yet at the start of the match, there was no sign of it. The Serb was a picture of calm focus and mental clarity as she quickly pushed ahead 3-0 with solid serving and some zinging forehands. Safarova looked awry, spraying the ball and not producing the same forceful groundstrokes that had seen her oust defending champ Maria Sharapova earlier in the tournament.

"I started a little bit slower the match and I was not swinging as much as I should. I was a little slow on my feet," Safarova said. "Ana was playing right away well and going for her shots, so I slowly started to get into the rhythm, into the game, and played really well the game to break her back."

When Safarova double-faulted in the sixth game, Ivanovic had two chances at 15-40 to go up 5-1. The Czech escaped with some consistent, deep hitting from the baseline to coax the No. 7 seed into errors, and despite going down 2-5, suddenly she was back in the contest, firing her shots with greater authority and improving scores to 4-5.

 

Yet while Safarova’s improved play was a contributing factor, Ivanovic played the biggest role in her own demise, which was to follow shortly after. The Czech levelled at 5-5 with some big serving, and Ivanovic's game promptly fell apart. Her ball toss veered everywhere and forced her to repeatedly catch it and try again. Her first serve began to frequently find the net. And her backhand - which she was earlier hitting smoothly - became a taut shot that she resorted to moonballing.

A couple of double faults and errors helped Safarova break for a 6-5 lead. And after Ivanovic sent the simplest of volleys into the net to open the twelfth game, Safarova would go on to hold for love to win five straight games, and the set.

It was a despondant Ivanovic who took to the court for the second set, drained of all the verve with which she had begun the match. Banging her thighs with her racquet to get them moving, she managed to find a forehand winner and an ace for a 1-0 lead.

Ivanovic's mental struggles were Safarova's confidence-builder. She could see her opponent was suffering, and she sensed her chance, swinging out and finding winners while Ivanovic couldn't find the court. She broke early and maintained her advantage, building a 5-3 lead. Yet by this point, Ivanovic had settled somewhat, and in the ninth game she produced a swinging forehand volley winner and a couple of powerful forehands to draw errors, holding for 4-5 and forcing the Czech to serve out the match.

And Safarova couldn't. In a game reminiscent of the turmoil Ivanovic went through late in the first set, Safarova double-faulted three times and saw a match point slip away. Suddenly, Ivanovic was hitting out with purpose again, and fuelled by the cheers of the Chatrier crowd, she broke back for 5-5.

It proved just a momentary comeback. While the standard of tennis was generally high in the eleventh game, Ivanovic was undone by errors yet again. And with the break in hand at 6-5, Safarova made no mistake the second time around, taking pace off her delivery to ensure she landed her serves, and smiting a backhand winner to reach 40-15.

Two points later, she had sealed a milestone victory.

"I have been on tour, it's my 12th year, and to reach this finally," Safarova said, "you appreciate it much more, I think."
--Roland-Garros--
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