Safina's straight-sets stroll

Safina: No need for heroics

I never expected to get to the final, but sometimes when you least expect it, the results come.

Dinara Safina
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Russian 13th seed Dinara Safina beat fellow countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova in Paris to reach her first Grand Slam final.

Safina won 6-3 6-2 against the fourth seed. She will play either Ana Ivanovic, the second seed, or third seed Jelena Jankovic in Saturday's final.

It was an error-strewn display from Kuznetsova, who struggled particularly with her own service, as Safina sealed the win in an hour and 27 minutes.

In both her previous rounds, Safina saw off top seed Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva by mounting comebacks from a set and 2-5 down, saving a match point in each, but there was to be no need of similar heroics in this one-sided contest.

Nervy

After a nervy opening from both players which featured five breaks in nine games, it was Safina who was able to raise her level when the crucial moment arrived.

One of many Kuznetsova forehand errors gave the 13th seed a 5-3 lead and she set up set point with a backhand drop shot. The set was safely in the bag when Kuznetsova steered another simple forehand wide.

It was the first set the 22-year-old Kuznetsova had dropped at Roland Garros this year and she never looked likely to recover, despite exchanging a couple of breaks with her opponent at the start of the second set.

Safina broke again to lead 3-2 and an exasperated Kuznetsova was given a code violation by the umpire for launching a ball into the upper tiers of the Court Philippe Chatrier.

Chances

Kuznetsova's final chances came in an error-strewn sixth game of the set from Safina, but the 22-year-old Muscovite held her nerve and Kuznetsova's resistance crumbled from 4-2 down.

"This is for me, Marat and all of my family," said Safina, whose brother Marat - twice a Grand Slam winner - never got beyond the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

"At 5-2 in the second set and 0-30 down I got a little tight, but I told myself to be more aggressive or she would take control.

"I never expected to get to the final, but sometimes when you least expect it, the results come."