Translated material
Thriller writers
Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros
At the French Open tennis championship yesterday, all participants in the women's semi-finals were determined. The first pair was made up of Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina, the second - Serbian tennis players Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic.In the Russian derby, Elena Dementieva was opposed by Dinara Safina, who the day before managed to knock out the first racket of the world, Maria Sharapova, from the fight. There was no doubt that the current fight would be intriguing and protracted. But few people imagined that Safina would once again prove herself as an outstanding screenwriter of tennis thrillers. Passions have not yet subsided after her intense match with Sharapova. And here's a new drama. Safina's loss in the first set was 4:6, despite the fact that at first the tennis player was confidently in the lead and her game was more varied. The second set is 2:5. Everything seemed to be decided. But Safina manages not only to catch up with Dementieva, but also to bring the meeting to a tie-break - 7:6 (7:5) in favor of Safina. One gets the impression that Dinara deliberately creates difficulties for herself in order to successfully overcome them later.
The third set in some ways is very reminiscent of the fight with Sharapova. The only difference is that while the first racket of the world fought for every point and attacked hard, Dementieva actually stopped resisting. Safina won the decisive game to zero (6:0) and reached the semi-finals. The sixth mutual meeting with Dementieva, as in the final of the recent tournament in Berlin, brought victory to Marat’s younger sister Safin.
In a sense, the quarterfinal match of Svetlana Kuznetsova against 22-year-old Estonian Kaya Kanepi was simpler than the confrontation between Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina. On the eve of the meeting with Kanepi, the Russian said that she did not know what to expect from her opponent. The only time the girls met on the court was seven years ago in the final of the junior Roland Garros, where Kuznetsova lost. “What I remember about Kanepi from that match is not particularly important because she is a completely different player now. So do I. She hits hard and it's her forehand that's probably the most to be wary of. I didn’t see her matches at the tournament for the reason that I don’t look ahead,” Kuznetsova explained.
Kanepi, on the contrary, remembered that fight very well at the press conference. “It was my birthday then, and I gave myself a gift by beating Kuznetsova in a difficult match. However, now it will be a different game. It will be interesting to see what has changed since then."
Since then, there have really been qualitative changes. Kuznetsova rose to fourth place in the BTA ranking, and Kanepi settled in 49th. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the first set the game was played with a clear advantage of the Estonian tennis player. Apparently, Svetlana needed time to adapt to her opponent and find out her weak points. The Estonian took the lead and after seven games strengthened her position, bringing the score to 5:2. Contrary to all logic, it was at this moment, when the athlete was only a game away from a winning set, that a turning point occurred in the match. Either Kanepi believed in her victory too quickly, or Svetlana decided that there was no point in delaying the meeting. But Kuznetsova wins five games in a row and ends the first set in her favor - 7:5.
The Russian woman begins the second segment of the game with a completely different attitude. And the only thing it allows the competitor to do is win the first game. After which Kuznetsova not only equalizes the score, but also outplays the Estonian in all respects. As a result, Svetlana quickly brings the score to 5:1. At the end of this play, Kanepi responds with a high twisted candle, which Svetlana fails to take. And after this successful move he takes another game on his serve - 5:2. However, this short burst in the game of the Estonian athlete is no longer able to change the outcome of the match - 6:2. Kuznetsova reaches the semi-finals, having rehabilitated herself for the fight with Kanepi seven years ago.
The first of the quartet of tennis players to reach the semifinals was Ana Ivanovic, having won a day earlier over the experienced Patty Schnyder - 6:3, 6:2. The second Serbian athlete, Jelena Jankovic, won yesterday with exactly the same score. Interestingly, in the quarterfinal match she was up against 19-year-old Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, who made it into the main draw of a major tournament for only the third time in her career. It is clear that the outcome of this fight was largely predictable. Jankovic is currently number three in the world, Navarro is number 132. However, the fact that the tournament qualifier was able to reach the quarterfinals indicates the potential capabilities of this Spaniard, who over time can prove herself to be a decent clay player.
After the quarterfinal match, Yankovic admitted to reporters that throughout the tournament she was seriously bothered by an injury to her right hand. The pain was so unbearable that after completing the fourth round, the tennis player decided to fly to Serbia to consult with her doctors. Almost the entire night before the match and the next morning, doctors carried out special procedures, thanks to which the pain went away. Yankovic returned to Paris and, a few hours after the flight, entered the match with Navarro. “Without these procedures, I would not have been able to play further,” Jankovic added.
Now the tennis player faces a difficult duel with her compatriot. And taking into account all the circumstances, health problems, we can assume that Ivanovich’s chances have increased. But let's wait for the results of the semi-finals.