Ana Ivanovic let out a girlish squeal and covered her face, delighted with what she had just achieved.
And this was before the young Serb learned she had clinched the No. 1 ranking for the first time.
Ivanovic advanced to the French Open final for the second year in a row, sweeping the final three games to beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 on Thursday. Ivanovic’s opponent today will be No. 13-seeded Dinara Safina, who will be trying to join older brother Marat Safin as a Grand Slam champion.
PHOTO: EPA
Ivanovic also seeks her first major title. But at 20, she’s already assured of supplanting Maria Sharapova atop the rankings next week.
She said she was unaware the semi-final victory earned her the No. 1 spot until she was told after the match.
“Being No. 1 is a dream come true for me,” Ivanovic said. “It was a big surprise because I was so focused on the tournament.”
That’s still the case. She seeks a breakthrough in Grand Slam finals after finishing as the runner-up to Justine Henin at last year’s French Open and to Sharapova at this year’s Australian Open.
Nerves sabotaged Ivanovic’s chances a year ago at Roland Garros, and she won only three games in a dismal performance.
“I feel like a different player coming into this French Open,” Ivanovic said. “A lot of experience I gained from that final and the final in Australia, so I really hope I can step up this time and make one more step.”
Safina finds herself in uncharted territory. The Russian’s best previous Grand Slam showings were quarter-final finishes in 2006 at Roland Garros and the US Open, and she knows she’s lucky to be in the final after fending off a match point in consecutive rounds.
Her semi-final victory was more straightforward. Dominating with an aggressive approach from the baseline, Safina beat an error-prone Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2.
Jankovic was dejected following her roller-coaster defeat. She squandered leads of 4-2 in the first set and 3-1 in the third. She would have climbed to No. 1 next week had she won; instead she fell to 0-4 in major semi-finals.
No wonder she was glum. When asked about her plans for Thursday night, she said: “I will have some dinner and maybe get drunk.”
■ NADAL INTO FINAL
DPA, PARIS
Rafael Nadal moved to within one victory of a record-equaling fourth straight title at the French Open yesterday with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Novak Djokovic to reach a fourth straight final,
The Spanish king of clay remains undefeated at Roland Garros and will play either Roger Federer or Frenchman Gael Monfils in tomorrow’s title match.
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