Grand Slam Tennis - Safina, Williams to Dispute Ladies' Crown

If Roger Federer is going for history by winning his 14th Grand Slam singles titles, Williams is going for her 10th and a piece of tennis history as she joins an elite club of women tennis players who have won 10 or more Grand Slam singles titles. And it surely is a club that she is bent on being a member.

When I looked at the draw a week ago, I really felt that Serena Williams was the player I expected to win. Maria Sharapova's withdrawal gave her a clearer path to win the crown. Perhaps the only person who can beat her is her big sister Venus, but because of her erratic performances in past stagings of the Australian Open, I had my doubts if she could have made it until the quarterfinals even. Her early exit in this season's staging has proved me right. Jelena Jankovic may have been seeded ahead of her but Jankovic does not yet possess the game that can beat Serena or even Venus in a highly charged, tennis match final. Dementieva may have beaten her previously but it was more of Williams not helping herself by committing more mistakes than by Dementieva producing more winners.

Williams should thank her lucky stars that on the day she played her semi-final match against Svetlana Kuznetsova, it was obvious that she was affected by the extremely hot weather conditions. I think she purposely lost the first set of that match so that the organizers can close the roof. It did provide a 15 minute respite from the heat and a chance to regain their bearings as both players returned to their quarters. However, it became apparent that between the two, Kuznetsova was very much against the roof closure. She knew that she coped better under the conditions and closing the roof could give her rival a chance to come back in to the match, which is what happened eventually. Hence, Williams survived another day.

In Dinara Safina, who subdued Vera Zvonareva in the other semi-final with a 6-3, 7-6 tennis scores, Williams shall be facing a formidable opponent  in the Australian Open tennis finals. If Serena has beaten her in the past, I expect that the Australian Open tennis final encounter to be a closer and tighter match. Safina has improved so much. Just when her career appeared to be heading nowhere, she suddenly found this incredible transformation in her game that saw her barge into the finals match of the French Open for the first time in her career. Surely the next step for her is  to win a major title and what better tournament to win than the Australian Open, the crown that older brother Marat Safin last won.It shall be an added feather in the siblings cap if Safina wins her own crown and be the first brother and sister champions of this tournament.

With this ladies' singles final match, not only is the title on the line but also the added bonus of taking over the top ranking in women's tennis for this year is at stake. And with Safina and Williams emerging to be the contenders for this event, whoever wins shall be a worthy tennis queen.

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