Sat, Jun 09, 2007 page20

• Stoic Ana Ivanovic crushes Sharapova

  FRENCH OPEN The subdued young Serbian defeated a shrieking Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-1 to set up a meeting with Justine Henin, who says she has never felt better

  • NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
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  On her way to beating Maria Sharapova on Thursday to make it to the French Open final, Ana Ivanovic hardly said a word.

  When she won a point, she often bit her lip to keep herself from smiling. When she felt particularly fiery, she pumped her fist, but only subtly, keeping that fist close to her body.

  Only a few times did she exclaim, "Ajde!" in a voice that sounded like a squeak. The word means "c'mon" in Serbian. It is what Ivanovic shouted as she watched Sharapova's final forehand sail long to end the match.

  

  Serbia's Ana Ivanovic celebrates after beating Russia's Maria Sharapova in a semi-final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris on Thursday. Ivanovic won 6-2, 6-1.

  PHOTO: AP

  At that moment, Ivanovic, the gentle and sweet 19-year-old from Serbia, raised her arms and glanced into the stands, looking flabbergasted at what she had done. The scoreboard read, 6-2, 6-1.

  No, this was not back home in Belgrade, where she grew up playing tennis inside an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Her local club had drained it, covered it with carpet, then warned the players to play down the line, lest they have an inopportune meeting with the pool's high walls.

  On Thursday, in one of the two women's semi-finals, Ivanovic, the seventh seed, found herself on one of the most famous venues in tennis, the main court at Roland Garros. There, on the hallowed red clay, she had made it to her first Grand Slam final, and had just set up a meeting with the world's top player, Justine Henin.

  Henin defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-2, in the other semi-final on Thursday. Henin and Ivanovic will meet in the women's final today.

  "Everything went so fast and it's very exciting times for me," Ivanovic said, breathless, after her match was over. "I won a lot of matches lately, so it's great motivation, great excitement. So it's a little bit hard to calm down. Probably later today, I'll be very tired from that."

  Ivanovic had only 11 unforced errors in her semi-final match, while Sharapova seemed to do nothing right. She made 25 unforced errors, only nine winners and recorded five double faults.

  "I had my chances, and when I did, I just made sloppy errors," said Sharapova, who had been playing with a sore right shoulder. "I made a few swinging volleys in the net and long, which is usually my favorite shot, and also one of my best shots. I didn't feel like I had the rhythm today."

  Ivanovic was the calm, subdued opposite of Sharapova, who shrieked every time she hit the ball. She was the friendly next-door neighbor to Sharapova, who continued to play the role as a calculating diva.

  But ambition is hidden inside the tall, mocha-skinned Ivanovic. She picked up tennis when she was four, after seeing Monica Seles play on television. During that broadcast, Ivanovic saw a commercial for a local tennis club, then memorized the number.

  From then on, she was sure that she wanted to be a tennis player.

  "When I was a kid, I never played with the dolls, I always carried some rackets," she said.

  Now, though, she is the newcomer to this French Open final, while Henin is at home. Henin has won three of the four last championships at Roland Garros, and is hoping to win her third in a row. Seles was the last woman to do that, in 1992.

  It took Henin one hour, 20 minutes to dismantle Jankovic, who had been one of the three Serbian players in the semi-finals. She beat Jankovic for the sixth time and improved her record against her to 6-0.

  At the start of the year, Henin skipped the Australian Open because she was separating with her husband. But with that behind her, she said she has never felt better.

  "I had a difficult beginning of the year, and it's a great pleasure for me to be back at this Grand Slam tournament," said Henin, 25. "I have far more fun being on the court than in the past. I'm just enjoying every moment of it, and I'd like to go to the end, to get the reward for all the efforts I've put into this."
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