Thu Jun 5 10:13:07 2008

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Safina ousts Kuznetsova to reach French Open final

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Paris, France (Sports Network) - Dinara Safina upset fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova on Thursday to reach the ladies' final at the 2008 French Open. Safina will appear in her first-ever Grand Slam title match here on Saturday.

The 13th-seeded Safina cruised past a sluggish fourth-seeded Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2 on Court Chatrier at the famed Stade Roland Garros, as Kuznetsova fell to 3-1 in her career major semis.

Safina was in control throughout on Day 12 here, as she struck almost twice as many winners (39-20) and broke Kuznetsova's serve a whopping six times en route to the final. The match ended after 1 hour, 27 minutes when Kuznetsova sent one final forehand well wide of the court.

The big-hitting Safina is now 4-4 lifetime against Kuznetsova, who topped Safina in the French Open quarters in 2006.

Safina's opponent on Saturday will be from Serbia, either second-seeded Ana Ivanovic or third-seeded Jelena Jankovic. Either Ivanovic or Jankovic will become the new No. 1 player next week, supplanting Maria Sharapova atop the rankings.

The 2004 U.S. Open champion and 2007 U.S. Open runner-up Kuznetsova was a French Open finalist two years ago, losing to the great Justine Henin.

The red-hot Safina is now riding a 12-match winning streak, which includes victories over reigning No. 1s, at the time, Sharapova and Henin and former top-ranked star Serena Williams. The Russian titled in Berlin last month, beating Henin, Williams and two-time Grand Slam runner-up Elena Dementieva en route to the surprising title. Safina also beat her fellow Russian Dementieva in a quarterfinal bout here on Wednesday, a day in which Safina saved a match point before advancing. She also staved off a match point before stunning the Australian Open champion Sharapova here on Monday.

The 22-year-old Safina is the younger sister of two-time Grand Slam titlist and former world No. 1 men's star Marat Safin.

The 5-foot-11 Safina will appear in her 11th career WTA Tour-level final (6-4) and is 1-0 in her lone 2008 finale, in Berlin. She captured an event here in Paris in 2005 -- the Paris Indoors.