It will be a one-two finish for the Williams sisters as Venus Williams and Serena Williams square off in the ladies final at Wimbledon for the fourth time on Saturday.  It feels like a repeat of last years finals.  Venus won 7-5, 6-4 so I’m wondering if kid sister, Serena, will top her this year.

image: Zuma Press

Venus took down Dinara Safina in a predictable semifinal match. Venus Williams has won 35 straight sets for an incredible record – she hasn’t lost on Centre Court since 2004.  That’s unbelievable!  Meanwhile, 23-year-old Safina incurred 16 unforced errors in the lopsided 6-1, 6-0 loss. At least it was over quickly – Venus destroyed the world No.1 in just 51 minutes!

The battle between Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva was a lot more interesting.  While the pair traded breaks in the first couple games and then went head-to-head for the rest of the thrilling match.  Right down to the final set, the intensity was incredible and it looked like Dementieva might take it after Williams double faulted but in the end, Williams walked away with a 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 8-6 victory over the Olympic gold medalist.

The Williams sisters, who will meet for the 21st time, have dominated the finals at Wimbledon for seven of the last nine years.  I’m sure it will be an amazing match!

The four top-seeded women have made the semifinals at Wimbledon which will feature a Russian versus an American player in both matches.

Despite her dislike for playing on the grass, top-ranked Russian, Dinara Safina, beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court which marks the first time she has advanced to the Wimbledon semifinal.

Safina was the runner-up at the French Open and the Australian Open and she played like a true champion on the hot day in London, although she did lose her cool at one point –she slammed her racquet down after committing her seventh double-fault.  Still, she managed to compose herself, regain her focus and beat Lisicki, who had to have her trainer ice her legs as she lay down on the court during the seventh set.

The Williams sisters have both made it to the semifinals which has led me to wonder if we are going to see a repeat of last year’s results with Venus winning over Serena in the finals.

Venus Williams easily secured her spot in the semifinals by beating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2 in just 68 minutes.  It’s not surprising considering the American’s incredible record.  She has won 33 straight sets at Wimbledon since 2007.  That’s almost inhuman!  She’s now 67-9 all-time on grass

Meanwhile, Serena Williams played a clean match against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and walked away with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Centre Court in 1 hour, 13 minutes.  This marks the sixth time that she has made it to the Wimbledon semifinal.  Serena is a two-time champion at the All England Club.  She battled her sister for both victories in 2002 and 2003.

Russia’s Elena Dementieva routed Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1 in just 66 minutes.  It wasn’t the cleanest match for the reigning Olympic gold medalist who incurred nine double faults but she managed to finish strong with a victory.

The semifinals take place on Thursday, July 2, 2009 with the following pairings:

• Dinara Safina vs. Venus Williams (Venus is 2-1 in the three times they have met before)
• Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva (Elena is 3-1 in the four times they have met but Serena won their most recent battle at the Australian Open)

The women’s semifinals are definitely going to be interesting.

images: Zuma Press

Svetlana Kuznetsova was many things as she went into the 2009 French Open finals this morning but, most importantly, she was calm and determined.  Having only won a single Grand Slam title before, I’m sure she was nervous but she never let it show.

Instead, she beat a shaky-looking Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 Saturday and won the French Open.  You would have thought that Safina was the underdog by the way she played – she double-faulted seven times and seemed to struggle through the match.

While Safina faltered (and eventually slammed her racket down on the court), Kuznetsova soared and played a varied game and ultimately came out victorious. 

The French Open action continues tomorrow as Roger Federer and Robin Soderling face off in the Roland Garros final. 

image: TSN

The women’s semifinals are over and, on Saturday, top-ranked Dinara Safina will face off against seventh-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 2009 French Open final which will take place on Saturday at Roland Garros.

image: Zuma Press

Safina defeated 20th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova yesterday 6-3, 6-3.  This is the second consecutive time that she has made it to the French Open final but, if she is victorious on Saturday, it would be her first Grand Slam title since she lost last year to Ana Ivanovic in last year’s tournament.

Meanwhile, Kuznetsova had to really fight for her win, beating 30th-seeded Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 .  This is also her second French Open title match (she was the runner-up in 2006).  Last year, Kuznetsova faced Safina in the semifinals and lost in straight sets.

It is interesting to note that Safina has a 20-1 record on the clay this year but her lone loss came at the hands of her fellow Russian, Kuznetsova, against who she has played 13 times in their careers.

I think Saturday’s match up could be extremely intense if both women are on their games.  It will be exciting to see who wins it!

The world’s number one female tennis player and the top seed, Dinara Safina, continues to make her presence known at the 2009 French Open.  In yesterday’s match against Aravane Rezai, she was able to complete a straight-set rout in 6-1, 6-0 and did it in just 53 minutes.

image: TSN

The Russian star said “I take one point at a time.  I don’t waste my energy. Every point is important. No free points. No stupid mistakes. Just point by point I’m playing.”

Unfortunately, fans will not get to see the much-anticipated rematch between Safina and defending champion Ana Ivanovic since she was eliminated by Victoria Azarenka (who will now head to her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal).

Monday’s action will feature the following match-ups:

• Serena Williams (USA) vs. Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada)
• Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) vs. Sorana Cirstea (Romania)
• Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russian) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
• Samantha Stosur (Australia) vs. Virginie Razzano (France)

No. 1 ranked Dinara Safina has won the final at the Madrid Open against rising Danish teen sensation Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4. She has definitely proven that she is a serious contender at the French Open, which gets underway in a week.

Since becoming number one over Serena Williams on April 14th, she has posted a 14-1 record and was very dominate at Madrid.

"I was getting a bit tired by the end," said Safina. "But I dominated at the crucial times. I was very dominant in the first set.

"In the second I had a chance at a double-break."

 

Dinara has now won 11 career titles and probably won’t be taking any more criticism over her number one ranking. At the time she received that coveted number one spot, she had not won a title in 2009. That’s all changed now. I can’t wait to see what happens at the French Open.

Image Credit: Newscom

Fresh off her win at the Italian Open, Dinara Safina survived a tough match on Thursday and has advanced to the Madrid Open quarterfinals. She defeated Lucie Safarova 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. Who’s up next for Safina? Alona Bondarenko who defeated Anna Chakvetadze 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 on Thursday.

Other’s who have made it to the quarterfinals include Jelena Jankovic, Patty Schnyder, Agnes Szavay, Amelie Mauresmo, Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Dushevina.

Dinara Safina, who is currently ranked number one, is seeking her first major title at the upcoming French Open

Image Credit: Zuma Press

The Italian Open finals is all Russian. Dinara Safina will play Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final after both players defeated their opponents on Friday. Safina rallied to beat Venus Williams 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, while Kuznetsova defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-4.

Both Safina and Kuznetsova have been runners up in the finals at Rome, but have never taken the title.

The match between Safina and Williams lasted for 3 hours and 10 minutes! “She pushed me to play my best,” Safina said. “Sometimes you need this kind of match … It gives me a lot of confidence to beat such a big player like her, such a champion.”

Williams, who is currently number 5, will jump to number 3 by reaching the Rome semi-finals. This is her highest ranking in 6 years. Williams isn’t really concerned with the ranking, it’s the titles she concentrates on.

“The ranking will come when it comes. I like to keep my titles and have my trophies at home,” she said.

Stay tuned for results from the Women’s Italian Open, which takes place today (May 9).

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Dinara Safina has officially taken the number one spot on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings this morning (April 20). It was announced at the beginning of April that she had taken the title away from American player Serena Williams. Dinara is only the second Russian to reach the number one position. She joins Maria Sharapova.

Here are the current standings for Women’s tennis as of April 20, 2009:

1. Dinara Safina - Russia - 8951

2. Serena Williams - United States - 8272

3. Elena Dementieva - Russia - 7391

4. Jelena Jankovic - Serbia - 7350

5. Venus Williams - United States - 7102

6. Vera Zvonareva - Russia - 6720

7. Ana Ivanovic - Serbia - 5174

8. Victoria Azarenka - Belarus - 4646

9. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Russia - 4308

10. Nadia Petrova - Russia - 3840

You can see the complete list here.

Image Credit: Newscom

On April 20th, a new world number one player will be crowned. Today (April 8th) the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced that Dinara Safina will be replacing Serena Williams as the top women’s tennis player. Dinara is only the second Russian woman to hold the No. 1 spot. She joins Maria Sharapova.

“It’s a great honor to reach the No. 1 ranking and it is a dream that every girl who has ever wanted to play professional tennis shares. It is even extra special for me since my brother Marat was able to reach the No. 1 ranking and I am happy to share this achievement with him,” said Dinara Safina. “There’s no question that while I am very proud of my results over the past year, I would have liked to reach this achievement in a different manner. I hope to prove to everyone over the coming months that I merit the honor of being World No. 1.”

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