World No.1 Dinara Safina claimed her first title since climbing to the top of the rankings with a 6-3 6-2 victory over fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
Safina has won her first singles title in 2009, playing her fourth final of the season. Last week Safina and Kuznetsova faced each other in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final, but Kuznetsova then won 6-4 6-3. It was Kuznetsova’s first title in seven final appearances and first trophy since 2007. Oops, her curse in title matches may be back already.
The world No.8 Kuznetsova is projected to climb to No.7 in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings for the week of May 11, 2009, while Safina will remain No.1.
Winning the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Safina has won €620,000. Runner-up Kuznetsova has earned €310,000. (photos by our reader Elisa)
Get ready guys, the Dawn of Dinara Dominance has just begun!
Great win for Dinara Safina