Kuznetsova Conquers Herself and Safina to Win French Open
Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2, in an all Russian Women’s Final, to capture the 2009 French Open. With the victory, Kuznetsova, who also won the 2004 U.S. Open crown, adds a second Grand Slam singles trophy to her mantle. For Kuznetsova, who had lost eleven of her last thirteen finals and struggled to come through in big matches the past few years, this was a HUGE mental and emotional victory. “Sveta” has always been
considered to have had the tennis talent, but with her wins over Serena Williams in the quarters, Samantha Stosur in the semis and a clearly tense Dinara Safina in the final, Kuznetsova has taken her game and her career to a new level. Given the lack of a dominant Number One player in women’s tennis a year after Justine Henin’s retirement, Kuznetsova’s win adds another wrinkle to the fight for the year-end Number One ranking. Safina will continue to hold the Number One ranking into July. However, Kuznetsova now definitely belongs “in the conversation” with Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova (on the comeback trail) and former U.S. Open titlist, Kim Clijsters (who’s making a comeback at the 2009 U.S. Open) and others for Grand Slam titles and the Number One ranking in the years to come. Kuznetsova admitted after the match that she has now won her two favorite Grand Slams, i.e. Roland Garros and the U.S. Open. The only open question for Sveta at the age of twenty-three is how far this win will propel her in terms of the rankings and future Grand Slam titles.
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