Ivanovic queen of Paris
June 8th 2008 00:23
Serbian superstar Ana Ivanovic kissing her French Open crown
Serbian darling Ana Ivanovic claimed her first Grand Slam after beating Russian surprise packet DInara Safina in Paris this morning to claim the French Open.
Ivanovic, who became the first Serbian women to win a grand slam title, capped a supreme two week period which culminated in her rise to World No.1, recently held by Maria Sharapova.
After suffering defeat in the Australian Open final in January, Ivanovic put all nerves aside, as she outplayed her Russian counterpart like a true World No.1.
The 21 yr old superstar beat Safina (6-4 6-3) in a contest that never saw Ivanovic look headed for a second consecutive defeat in a grand slam final.
Ivanovic, who was finalist at the French Open last year (lost to retired Justin Henin Hardene), displayed authority and verve against Safina ,who made the final courtesy of wins over fellow Russians Dementieva and glamour girl Sharapova.
But there was no fairytale ending in sight for Safina as Ivanovic started strongly to race to a 4-2 lead in the first set.
Safina responded well however and managed to claw her way back to 4 games all. Ivanovic though broke again and this time held her serve to take the first set 6-4.
As if the pressure was off her shoulders, Ivanovic took control in the second set and asserted her status in Paris as the new queen of Women's tennis. Ivanovic sealed match point with a solid forehand to close the set 6-3 and end what was a delightful two weeks for the Serbian prodigy.
The French Open was Ivanovic's seventh WTA title, who at only 20 years of age, will reach the pinnacle of Women's tennis when she is crowned World No.1 next Monday. Russian finalist Safina will reach the top ten for the first time in her career when she occupies the ninth position in the world rankings.
Ivanovic's win capes off what has been a delightful run for Serbia in the Tennis world, after men's World No.3 Novak Djokovic was crowned the Australian Open champion in January this year.
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