Dinara Safina (AFP Photo / Lionel Bonaventure)

Tennis queen makes it to Roland Garros final

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Published 04 June, 2009, 18:52

Top-ranked Dinara Safina has repeated her run of last year and advanced to the French Open final for the second year in a row. Her compatriot, Svetlana Kuznetsova, claimed another spot in the final.

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Safina beat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals, and is now one step away from the first Grand Slam title of her career.

It was a mistake-filled match on Thursday, in which Safina came out the winner despite seven double-faults and 24 unforced errors.

Meanwhile, the seventh-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova had to sweat much more to earn her spot in the ultimate round.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (AFP Photo / Lionel Bonaventure)

Her opponent, Samantha Stosur of Australia, was playing with great heart in her first Grand Slam semi, coming back from a set down.

But Kuznetsova's consistency from the baseline helped her grind out a tough third and final set, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

The Russian made her second trip to the French Open final, after being ousted in straight sets back in 2006 by Justine Henin.

So an all-Russian final is now in store for Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

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