AP
June 6, 2008
PARIS - Dinara Safina needs only one more win to join her older brother as a Grand Slam champion, and she'll try for it tomorrow against Ana Ivanovic in the French Open final.
Dispensing with the come-from-behind drama of her previous two matches, Safina advanced yesterday by beating fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2.
Ivanovic won a seesaw semifinal against fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Ivanovic swept the final three games for a victory that ensures she'll be ranked No. 1 for the first time next week, replacing Maria Sharapova.
Safina's berth in a major final is her first. Her brother Marat Safin is a former No. 1 player who won the 2000 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open.
"I'm doing it for him and for myself," she said.
Safina will try to become the first woman to win a Grand Slam title after saving match point in two matches.
Seeded 13th, Safina was one point from defeat against Sharapova in the fourth round and No. 7-seeded Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals before mounting comebacks.
But against the error-prone Kuznetsova, Safina took a 4-1 lead and cruised the rest of the way.
"I won in two sets - that's strange for me," Safina said. "Once I had a set, then I knew I can push a little bit more. Then fire comes and you really like start to fly."
