FULL VERSION 2008 - Ivanovic vs Safina - French Open Roland Garros

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Copyrights - © INA - Institut National de l'audiovisual
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Commentary Copyrights - © NBCUniversal Media, LLC a subsidiary of Comcast (US)
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Thank you for your gracious use of this classic match!
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PertSnergleman's Review:
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Serbia's Ana Ivanovic mesmerised Russian Dinara Safina to win her maiden grand slam title at the French Open in 2008.
Her triumph confirmed her status as the new number one in women's tennis and made amends for her nerve-ridden display of 12 months before, when she won just three games in the final against Justine Henin.
Since Henin announced her retirement 24 days ago, Ivanovic had been tipped as the Belgian's heir apparent, she then proved that the Roland Garros crown was a perfect fit.
Aptly, Henin was on hand to mark the changing of the guard by handing over the trophy.
"As a kid when I used to go by bike to practice, I used to dream of this... it's just been amazing," Ivanovic, the first woman representing Serbia to win a major title, told the crowd.
For Safina, it was a disappointing end to what had been a remarkable two weeks. Seeded 13th, she rolled over three top 10 players to reach the championship match.
The run had included saving match points against the now dethroned world number one Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and seventh seed Elena Dementieva in the quarter-finals.
But on Saturday she ran into an opponent who had no intention of waving the white flag.
"I didn't have any more of that fire that I had in those matches I was just tired, mentally and physically," said Safina.
The Russia's forehand was proving to be a double-edged sword, however, producing sizzling winners and wild errors in seemingly equal measure.
Sensing that Safina's famed powers of resilience were crumbling fast, Ivanovic turned around a losing cause to win the point of the match.
If Safina had any fight left in her, she lost it in the seventh game of the second set, which lasted for 13 minutes. Seven deuces, three double faults and a crying child in the crowd only added to her frustration.
Six minutes later, it was all over. After a scrambling Safina shovelled the ball into the net, Ivanovic dropped her racket and crouched behind the baseline in disbelief.
She then faced her first hurdle of the day when she tried to follow a tradition set by Pat Cash at Wimbledon 21 years ago -but eventually managed to clamber through the VIP stands to share her moment of triumph with her friends and family.