Lucie Safarova moved to within a victory of her first Grand Slam final with a comprehensive victory over Garbine Muguruza on Tuesday. Grabbing that coveted spot in the final will be a tall task, however, for Safarova as standing in her way in the last-four is the in-form Ana Ivanovic. The Serbian reached her first grand slam semifinal in seven years with a straight-sets win over Elina Svitolina.
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this blockbuster matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our quarterfinal previews of Williams vs. Errani and Bacsinszky vs. Van Uytvanck.
Ana Ivanovic’s quest for a second French Open triumph is still very much alive after an emphatic 6-3, 6-2 win over Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. It was a superb performance from the former world No. 1 who needed just one hour and 15 minutes to oust the Ukrainian. It has been a remarkable comeback for Ivanovic who last reached a Grand Slam semifinal back in 2008.
[sc:Other240banner ]Key to Ivanovic’s victory on Tuesday was her excellent return. She won 51% of her receiving points and converted four of her five break point opportunities against Svitolina. Also helping matters for the Serbian was her highly-efficient attack. She hit a whopping 37 winners in the match as opposed to Svitolina’s eight.
Up next for Ivanovic in the semis is Lucie Safarova. The 27-year-old is 1-1 lifetime against Safarova on the slow surface. Ivanovic will be buoyed by the fact that she defeated Safarova in their last meeting at Tokyo last year. Ivanovic trounced Safarova in the quarterfinals of that event in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
For Ivanovic to clinch a place in the final, she needs to limit her miscues. She committed 30 unforced errors in the quarters against Svitolina. For the tournament, Ivanovic is averaging 25.8 unforced errors per match.
Lucie Safarova stormed into the semifinals of the 2015 French Open with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over Garbine Muguruza. Safarova needed one hour and 53 minutes to edge past Muguruza as she booked a spot in a Grand Slam semifinal for just the second time in her career.
Safarova has been playing some phenomenal tennis as she has yet to lose a set in this year’s French Open. Things are bound to get tougher, though, for Safarova as standing in her way in the next round is the red-hot Ivanovic who will be playing in her third French Open semifinal.
That being said, Safarova will fancy her chances against Ivanovic as she has fared extremely well against her in the past. The lefty holds the advantage in their head-to-head matchups, 5-3, with Safarova winning five of their last six meetings. One of those victories came at the French Open last year where Safarova defeated Ivanovic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
For Safarova to reach her first ever Grand Slam final, she needs to improve on her return play. Safarova won just 40% of her receiving points against Muguruza with the Czech star converting just two of her eight break point chances. In this tournament thus far, Safarova has converted just 17 of her 41 break point opportunities for a 41% success rate.
She will be licking her chops at the prospect, though, of facing an Ivanovic serve that was shaky in the quarterfinals. Ivanovic put just 54% of her first serves in play against Svitolina. The Serbian also committed six double faults in that match.
