2009 French Open: Svetlana Kuznetsova Wins Battle of Russia

The French capital of Paris had a Russian air about it today (June 6th), as Svetlana Kuznetsova won only her second ever Grand Slam title with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victory over compatriot Dinara Safina.

While the win is Kuznetsova's first-ever French Open title, and only her second, after her US Open victory back in 2004, her opponent and favourite in the match, Dinara Safina, doesn't yet know the feeling of being on the winning side of a Roland Garros final.

As the world No.1 and top seed lost in last year's final to Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, and despite being the top ranked player in the world, she has never actually won a Grand Slam title, with a record of three losses and no wins in Grand Slam singles' finals.

And throughout the 2009 final at Roland Garros, it was hard to tell who was the top seed and who was the seventh seed.

The top seed, Safina, struggled throughout, and despite making a bright start by breaking Kuznetsova's serve in the opening game, the Russian No.1 looked very nervy and was made to pay for her lack of movement, as well as for her seven double faults.

It was an uncharacteristic performance from the top seed, just like it was from the seventh seed.

Unlike in previous big matches where nerves seem to get the better of Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian No. 2 swept aside her slightly more superior opponent with steady play, some brilliant drop shots, and all-round disjointing of her opponent's tactics.

She seemed calm throughout, and looked in control of the proceedings on the clay court, whereas Safina did not, and late on in the match even appeared close to tears.

And during the trophy celebration, one could see Safina's emotions, as with her voice cracking she said: "Here I am back in the same situation as last year, hopefully one day I can win here."

Following a friendly rivalry with her opponent that dates back a decade, Kuznetsova's reaction upon winning was slightly more subdued, although she said of her victory: "Today I think [Safina] was too tight. She had so much pressure on her.

"But I could bring my game better today, that's why I won."

From the final in Paris, Dinara Safina wins prize money of $750K for being the runner-up, while for being the winner, Svetlana Kuznetsova gains a total of $1.5M.

And tomorrow (Sunday), it's the men's singles final, with Roger Federer, in his fourth consecutive French Open final, taking on the surprise package Robin Soderling, who defeated four-time champion Rafael 'The Matador' Nadal on his way to the final.

Swiss maestro Federer will be bidding to become only the sixth player in history to win all four Grand Slam titles, and equal the record of 14 Grand Slam titles won by the legendary Pete Sampras.

His opponent, however, Sweden's Robin Soderling, before this tournament had only ever made it to the third round of a Grand Slam, and is currently the only Swede inside the top 100 ATP rankings.

If Soderling wins tomorrow, he will become the first Swede to win the tournament since Mats Wilander in 1988.

The men's final takes place at 2 PM (GMT).