French Open: Lucie Safarova In Finals After Beating Ana

World number 13 Lucie Safarova
struggled to find the words to express
delight after reaching her first grand
slam final at the French Open.
Lucie Safarova admitted she was finding
it hard to come to terms with what she
had achieved at the French Open
following her semi-final victory.
The 13th seed booked her place in
Saturday’s showpiece ” her maiden
grand slam final appearance ” with a 7-5
7-5 triumph over Ana Ivanovic , the Czech
putting a slow start behind her to
progress.
With the final in sight there were a few
nerves, allowing Ivanovic briefly back
into the match, but Safarova broke again
before serving out for the match, and
creating a new high point in her 12-year
career.
“ It’s slowly sinking in, it’s amazing, the
happiness is unreal, ” she said.
“ I started a little bit slow, I was not
swinging as much and was slow on my
feet. I slowly started to get into the
rhythm and played really well to break
back, then used the momentum to take
the [first] set.
“When I realised I could be in the final I
got a little bit tense, I was over-thinking
and couldn’t concentrate. My serve
wasn’t working, and it was a little bit of
a fight.
“But when I lost the game I shook it off
and started playing aggressive again and
served it out. “
Safarova ” who will play in the doubles
semi-final with Bethanie Mattek-Sands on
Friday ” faces Serena Williams in this
weekend’s showpiece.