The crowd at the French Open final had a sense of what might be coming
next when Dinara Safina’s first serve hit the middle of the net
traveling at a shockingly low speed. There was a collective gasp at the
sight of the world’s top player as she fell apart.Safina had not won a set in losing last year’s French Open final to Ana
Ivanovic and this year’s Australian Open final to Serena Williams. But
Safina arrived in Paris as the game’s and the tournament’s No. 1 after
being the most consistent and successful woman on clay all spring. She
overwhelmed her first four opponents in a fashion reminiscent of the
retired champion who awarded the trophies on Saturday – Steffi Graf,
who now goes by Stefanie.On the men’s side, Swiss star Roger Federer will try to win his first
French Open championship today when he faces Robin Soderling.When Kuznetsova would allow herself to imagine winning the French Open,
she always pictured herself dropping to the clay in joy. But the
anticlimactic way this one ended didn’t call for such a celebration.
Instead, Kuznetsova simply turned to make eye contact with her coach
and supporters in the stands, then walked to the net for a handshake
and kisses on the cheek.At the other end of the court, Safina covered her forehead with her
left hand – disbelief written all over her face – then spiked her
racket.I was a little bit desperate on the court,” said the 23-year-old
Safina, who appeared to be fighting tears late in the match and during
the trophy presentation. “Didn’t stay tough mentally.