French Open 2015: Results, Highlights, Thursday Scores Recap from Roland Garros
Top-seed Serena Williams staged another comeback to edge Timea Bacsinszky while Lucie Safarova took advantage of a shaky Ana Ivanovic to set the stage for the 2015 French Open women's final.
Both matches featured their fair share of drama. Williams was in visible distress throughout her semifinal and dropped the opening set before rallying in vintage fashion. Safarova fell behind 3-0 in the opening set before storming back to win in straights.
Let's check out the final scorelines from both matches in the penultimate round on the women's side. The results are followed by a recap of the action from Roland Garros.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Women's Semifinal Results
| Semifinals | (13) Lucie Safarova | (7) Ana Ivanovic | 7-5, 7-5 |
| Semifinals | (1) Serena Williams | (23) Timea Bacsinszky | 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 |
Day 12 Recap
Ivanovic came out flying in the opening set. She earned an early break and raced out to a 3-0 lead before Safarova was able to settle in. It was a highly impressive start for the 2008 French champion, who was making her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance since that triumph seven years ago.
Andrew Jerell Jones of The Intercept highlighted the early contrast in play:
"Backhand all over the place so far from Lucie Safarova and Ana Ivanovic in a solid mental state to start. 3-0
— Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) June 4, 2015"
Safarova was able to rebound before the first set completely slipped away, though. She started cutting down on the errors and looked far more like the player who eliminated Maria Sharapova, Sabine Lisicki and Garbine Muguruza, among others, to reach the final four.
The Czech lefty was able to win seven of the next nine games, highlighted by converting two of three break-point chances, to stun Ivanovic and steal the set. It was a massive turnaround and completely changed the demeanor of her opponent in the process.
Ivanovic looked supremely confident at the outset. By the end of the first set, however, her trademark ball toss problems had returned and she lost the aggression off the forehand wing.
Jim Caple of ESPN further spotlighted the comeback:
Safarova was able to take quick control of the second set with a break in the third game. She had a brief setback when serving to close out the match as Ivanovic was able to get back level. But the No. 13 seed broke right back and finished the semifinal on her second try.
Roland Garros passed along her comments about the ending:
ESPN Stats and Info noted her victory ends a drought for the Czech women:
In the second semifinal, Williams was noticeably sluggish from the opening ball. There was very little urgency while moving around the court. She took a lot of big swings early in points in an attempt to end them quickly.
As Giulio Gasparin of Spazio Tennis pointed out, Bacsinszky took advantage to win the first set:
The unheralded Swiss player also raced out to a lead in the second set. She grabbed the 3-2 edge with a break in the fifth game. She didn't win another game the entire match.
Williams responded like a true champion, rattling off 10 straight games to go from the fringe of elimination to punching her ticket to the final. She still looked sick but was able to play more steady tennis to overwhelm her opponent, who was making her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance.
Dawn Rhodes of the Chicago Tribune showcased the turnaround:
Steve Weissman applauded the effort:
Now Williams will go for her 20th career Grand Slam singles title on Saturday against Safarova. The French Open has always posed the toughest challenge for her. She's going for her third title at Roland Garros compared to at least five in the other majors.
She holds an 8-0 advantage over the 28-year-old veteran in their previous meetings. Two of those came on clay with Williams losing just six combined games. So she should enter the championship match as a pretty sizable favorite.
The only factor that could level the playing field is Williams' health. If she's still well below 100 percent on Saturday, it could open the door for an upset. But, as the American proved today, she doesn't need to play her best tennis to win a big match.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
