World No.1 and top seed Dinara Safina once again used her impressive comeback skills to defeat Flavia Pennetta 3-6 7-5 6-0 and reach the Stuttgart final where she will face fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The world No.14 Pennetta seemed to be on a good way to victory as she won the first set and was close to winning the second, too. However, when Safina leveled at 5-5 in the second set, she never looked back and won the next eight games. Pennetta showed powerful groundstrokes, but as she lost her chances she became burnt out and Safina started dominating.
Safina now has a 6-0 head-to-head record against Pennetta.
Earlier, fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova crushed compatriot and second seed Elena Dementieva 6-4 6-2 with surprising ease in just 67 minutes to book her place in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final.
In Sunday’s final Kuznetsova will be trying to win her first tournament since New Haven in 2007. Safina will be going for her first title of the season, after losing in two finals in 2009, in Sydney and at the Australian Open.
The Dawn of Dinara Dominance has just begun!
Sighs: To all Dina fans: she’s down a set and 2-5
If Safina keeps this form going for the next few weeks there’s no way that she can’t win Roland Garros.