 |
| Li Na |
|
|
A Quiet Climb to the Finals
|
By Pat Byrd Story Updated June 2, 2011
Francesca Schiavone was a long shot to repeat her climb to the 2011 French Open Final, But Li Na wasn't even on the radar. Just to make it out of the first round was a struggle for the Chinese woman barely making it past Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-3,6-7,(6),6-3. She also battled the number nine seed Petra Kvitova in the round of sixteen overcoming her 2-6,6-1,6-3. Li's next bump in this long dusty clay road was the fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, who had difficulties with recent injuries, but Li overcame this top ten seed too, 7-5, 6-2.
Now the real test, a red hot seventh ranked Maria Sharapova fresh off a win in Rome. A daunting task for Li Na but a surprising result with a 6-4, 7-5 win, making history and placing this Chinese woman in her first French Open Final, and second slam final over all. Li Na is making history again by making this Grand Slam final.
The feisty Italian woman Francesca Schiavone, the tournament's reigning champion and fifth seed will be Li Na's competition in this first ever Italian, Chinese Final at Rolland Garros.
In Schiavone's quarter of the draw she encountered a very tough Jelena Jankovic who she defeated in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, in the round of sixteen. In the quarterfinals she struggled against a very good 14th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova battling through to a 1-6,7-5, 7-5 victory. In the semi's, Schiavone met France's own Marion Bartoli, the 11th seed. Bartoli just couldn't keep up with the top spin, slice, and flat out pace Schiavone was putting on the ball, bringing Bartoli to net with a brilliant drop shot only to win the point with an even better passing shot. Playing with two hands on both sides is just too much of a disadvantage for Bartoli against Schiavoni.
128 women, 13 days, 7 matches, 1 French Open Champion. Will history make first time French Open finalist 29 year old Li Na a champion or will it be a repeat for the first ever 30 year old Italian French Open Champion.
"It's another good experience for my whole career," Li said. "I think I've proven a little bit for Chinese tennis-I'm sure they showed the match (semifinal with Sharapova)the same time in China, so maybe some children saw the match and think they can do the same or even better one day. I just need one more step and my dream will come true."
"Saturday I will go on the court enjoying, breathing, saying thanks for everything, because for me to arrive in the finals is fantastic, " Schiavone said. "And then I will play tennis. Sometimes we forget to play tennis- we go inside ourselves and break everything and we're upset. But it's just tennis, it's fantastic."
|
Schiavone Wins the 2010 French Open
|
 |
| Francesca Schiavone Holds the French Open Trophy |
|
|
 |
| Francesca Schiavone 2010 French Open Winner |
|
|
 |
| Sam Stosur |
|
|
Sam & Francesca Into Final
|
 |
| Francesca Schiavone |
|
|
By Ellen Newton Story Updated June 3, 2010
Paris, France—Thirteen days ago 128 women came to Paris with the hopes and dreams of winning the French Open. For a select few this would not be their first French title. Now on the eve of the final, the tournament will have a brand new champion, either 7th seed Australian born Samantha Stosur, or 17th seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy, the first Italian woman to make it past the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam in the Open Era, and now the first Italian woman ever to reach a Grand Slam final.
Each player took a very different road reaching the final. It takes winning seven matches to win a Grand Slam and so far Stosur has defeated (in order of round) Simona Halep 7-5,6-1, Rossana De Los Rios 4-6,6-1,6-0, Anastasia Pivovarova 6-3,6-2, three time French Open Champion Justine Henin 2-6,6-1,6-0, former French Open Champion Serena Williams 6-2,6-7(7),8-6, and 4th seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-1,6-2. One look at this list and anyone would say Stosur has earned herself a French Open Championship, but she has one match remaining, Francesca Schiavone.
Francesca Schiavone reached the final by way of defeating Regina Kulikova 5-7, 6-3,6-4, Sophie Ferguson 6-2,6-2, Na Li 6-4, 6-2, Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-4, 3rd seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-3, and French Open Finalist Elena Dementieva 7-6(7),Retired with a calf injury.
The 26 year old Australian may have had the more difficult road to the final, but the 29 year old Schiavone still has a lot of fight left in her and shouldn’t be underestimated. The clay at Rolland Garros has always been a great equalizer. Qualifiers have come up through the ranks to defeat former Champions and rankings mean little. With Schiavone’s semifinal win she will be assured a place in the top ten ranking while Stosur already in the top ten will guarantee her spot.
"It's fantastic. I couldn't have asked to play a better match. So to do that today and now be in my first final is just incredible," Stosur said. "I showed myself something in my match with Justine. And against Serena, more again. Today I just tried to make it about playing the points. It's not easy to do it all the time, but today it was just next point, give me the ball, and we'll go again."
"Samantha played really well," said Jankovic, who had a 2-0 lead in the second set before losing six straight games. "When I had chances, I made mistakes. It wasn't my game out there. I couldn't get a rhythm. Unfortunately, I lost - she was the better player. I'm angry. It's not easy to lose like this. But it's the way the game goes. I have to stay positive and I'll have another chance."
In Dementieva's match with Schiavone, she had never retired from a major tournament, "I have a tear in my left calf, so it's very painful to even walk. I got it after my second match, and I've aggravated it during three matches now. It was just sharp pain... it was a bit too much. I couldn't move. It is a disappointing moment... I did everything I could."
Schiavone is definitely the dark horse in the matchup with Stosur, she’s lower ranked, and played an easier draw, this French Open Final will definitely be Stosur’s match to win or lose.
|
Svetlana Kuznetsova Wins the 2009 French Open
|
 |
| Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina |
|
|
2009 French Open Winner Roger Federer
|
 |
| Roger Federer |
|
|
The place may be Paris, but the players are all Russian. What started on May 24th 2009 as 128 women, fourteen of them Russian, vying for two spots in the final of the French Open will end on June 6th 2009 with a Russian winner, that is a fact.
As expected the number one seed Dinara Safina of Russia took one of those final two spots knocking off the number twenty seed Dominika Cibulkova in the semi-finals, and the number nine seed, Victoria Azarenka in the quarters. Through the round of sixteen Safina smoked the competition only giving up five games, and in the quarter finals stumbled only once against ninth seeded Azarenka giving up the first set 16, but recovered nicely to take the next two sets 64, 62.
Out of the other 127 women, the second spot was filled by another Russian, this one the seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. Kuznetsova’s road to the final was perhaps a litter tougher than Safinas. In the round of sixteen she met Agnieszka Radwanska the twelfth seed, going three sets, 64, 16, 61. Then in the quarter finals came former French Open Champion Serena Williams, this would also take three long close sets, 76(3), 57, 75, but Kuznetsova would thunder on to meet a surprising semi-finalist: thirtieth seed Samantha Stosur from Australia, who knew? This should have been the easy one, a breeze, nothing to it for Kuznetsova, like I said: who knew? How close was it? How about 64, 67(5), 63, very close, maybe too long, and too close. Will Kuznetsova have enough gas left in the tank for the final?
Not to change the subject but did anyone notice this final might just be déjà vu? Think April 2009, Stuttgart Germany, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Kuznetsova defeats Safina in the final 64, 63. May 2009, Rome, Italy, the Internazionali BNL D’Italia. Once again Safina meets Kuznetsova in the final, but this time Safina wins handily 63, 62.
So this year’s clay court season pits Safina and Kuznetsova head to head at one and one. The only thing you can bet on for this year’s French Open is that this year’s winner will be Russian.
|
If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it; it’s the hard that makes it worth doing. This should be the mantra of the French Open, on the lips of every champion.
Serena Williams seems to think that if she says she is the world’s number one and best player, then you should believe it. She also believes she can go into a post match interview and use the cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater defense and be awarded princess points. This all stems from a third round match at the French open against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain. During one point Sanchez was drawn into net, Williams returns a hard ground stroke directed right at her. Sanchez in self defense raises her racquet in front of her torso blocking back the ball which turns out to be a winner, and game point. Williams tells the umpire that Sanchez was hit by the ball making the point hers. The umpire says no, and play continues. Williams goes on to win the match 46, 63, 64.
I saw this point. I saw this point replayed three times. Each time I saw the same thing, the ball hit the racquet, and apparently this is what the umpire also saw.
This isn’t the first time one of the Williams sisters has cried foul and yet they are catered to as if they were spoiled children. Not that this call was bad, but do they think they are the only players on tour that get a bad call, or don’t like court conditions, or think an ump is being unfair. This is the big league girls, grow up, put the bad call away and move on, win the next one. Be a gracious winner, not a child.
The French Open is without a doubt the toughest Grand Slam to win. Just take a look at the list of male winners to see a number of names you don’t recognize because they specialize only on clay, you will never see them win a match on grass or hard courts. Nadal is perhaps the first male player in several years to make his mark on all surfaces. Not even Roger Federer or Venus Williams have won a title on the red clay.
If the William Sisters want to do better at the French Open, perhaps their preparation needs to improve. By this I mean they need to commit to and actually play more tournaments. Venus did a better job of this than Serena; she played four events prior to the French with poor results in three of the four, winning none. Serena played two events, complained about being made to play the events because she was injured and needless to say her results were very poor and her pre French Open injury disappeared at the French.
The Williams sisters will only enter top dollar events of course excluding Indian Wells, a mandatory event, because of what they called a racist incident happening to them there, fan booing I believe.
Anyway, back to my original point, cheating, it’s tough to do in front of an umpire, linesmen, a crowd of thousands and of course a television audience of millions. If you can figure out how to do it, please let me know, I’m a terrible player and could use all the help I can get.
|
|
|
