Kuznetsova holds her nerve

Svetlana Kuznetsova conquered her nerves and beat a shaky Dinara Safina 6-4 6-2 on Saturday to win the French Open. Showing uncharacteristic calm,Kuznetsova earned her second Grand Slam title. Jitters have often betrayed Kuznetsova down the stretch in big matches,but she swept the final four games with steady play.

Instead it was the top-ranked Safina who battled her emotions in the all-Russian matchup. She double-faulted seven times,struggled with her movement and appeared near tears late in the match. “Definitely it was a lot of emotions inside of me,but I control it,” Kuznetsova said. “She was too tight. She had so much pressure on her.”

Safina climbed to No 1 in April,but she’s now 0-3 in Grand Slam finals. She was runner-up at Roland Garros last year to Ana Ivanovic. “Here I am back in the same situation as last year,” Safina said,her voice cracking. “Hopefully one day I can win here.”

Steffi Graf,who won the last of her six French Open titles a decade ago,presented the trophy. “I’ve been watching her for very long,but I’ve never met her,” Kuznetsova said. “So today I got in the locker room,and first thing I saw her,and I got red and I said,‘Hi,I’ve never met you.’ She wished me good luck. It’s special she gives me the trophy.”