French Open 2015 Women's Final: Serena Williams vs. Lucie Safarova Preview
Favourite Serena Williams will meet Lucie Safarova in the women's final of the 2015 French Open on Saturday, and following her win over Timea Bacsinszky in the semi-finals, the 33-year-old is facing major question marks.
Williams struggled against Bacsinszky, mainly due to the fact she came into the semi-final feeling quite ill. She managed to beat her opponent in three sets and seemed to recover somewhat during the match, but her tremendous effort took its toll a day later. As shared by AP Sports, Williams was in no condition to go through her routine on Friday:
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On paper, Williams should be the favourite over Safarova, who will be appearing in her first Grand Slam final. But the 28-year-old has been in tremendous form and, coupled with Williams' illness, an upset could be in the making.
Let's have a look at the upcoming women's final.
Safarova's Form
Safarova is a bit of a late bloomer, only making her first Grand Slam semi-final appearance at Wimbledon last year before doing even better at this year's French Open. She's always been a powerful, dangerous hitter who struggled with consistency, and of late, she has managed to find the balance between aggressive, attacking tennis and solid work from the baseline.
Her record against Williams isn't exactly sterling, via tennis writer Chris Goldsmith. However, the Safarova we see today isn't the same player who toiled in obscurity two years ago:
Safarova had a difficult road to the final, culminating in a two-set win over former French Open winner Ana Ivanovic on Thursday. It was a sloppy match for both players, but Safarova managed to make less mistakes than her opponent and successfully switched tactics after falling behind early.
Speaking to the event's official Twitter feed, she couldn't hide her excitement after the match:
Safarova was far from perfect on Thursday, and against an in-form Williams, the multitude of unforced errors and double-faults she hit would be punished relentlessly. But Williams is far from her best, while Safarova has never played better tennis before.
She's even made it to the women's doubles final as well, via Roland Garros' Twitter account:
If Safarova can stay calm and control her nerves, there's no reason to think she doesn't have a chance against Williams on Saturday.
Williams' Illness
Despite Safarova's excellent form, it's not hard to predict a win for Williams under normal circumstances. She's never lost to Safarova, and gave the Czech Republic star a proper spanking on green clay in Beijing just last year.
Her illness throws a massive wrench in those predictions, however, and USA Today sincerely doubts whether she'll be able to battle through the pain again and win the final:
Williams played with flu-like symptoms against Bacsinszky, and coupled with the Paris heat, it made for a miserable afternoon. Bacsinszky tried to move her as much as possible, but in general, Williams managed to keep the rallies relatively short, allowing her to return to her seat in time and stay hydrated.
Safarova likely won't make that same mistake, and given her powerful game and aggressive nature, Williams will have to be nimble, particularly in the return game. If she can't recover in time, she could be in serious trouble against the in-form Safarova.
Preview
As touched on before, the length of the rallies will be key in this match. Williams needs to stay cool, drink plenty of fluids and rest as much as possible, and the only way to do that is by keeping the rallies and games short.
That means aggressive serving, taking plenty of risks in the return game and firing winners from the baseline. Safarova isn't slow, but she's not a great defensive player who will chase down every ball.
Safarova will want to use the entire court and hit the ball as deep as possible, not giving Williams time to set her feet. Eliminating the winners and turning this match into a marathon will be her best chance at winning her first ever Grand Slam.
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