Rafael Nadal’s road to the final
Rafa only lost 29 games en route to his 22nd Grand Slam final. Nadal, aiming to be the first man to ever win a Grand Slam title 10 times, has a perfect 9-0 record in his previous nine appearances in the Roland Garros final.
I have been playing a great event. But Stan is playing unbelievable, no? It will be a super hard final and I will need to play at my very best.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| R1 | Benoît Paire | 6-1 6-4 6-1 |
| R2 | Robin Haase | 6-1 6-4 6-3 |
| R3 | Nikoloz Basilashvili | 6-0 6-1 6-0 |
| R4 | Roberto Bautista Agut [17] | 6-1 6-2 6-2 |
| QF | Pablo Carreno Busta [20] | 6-2 2-0 ret. |
| SF | Dominic Thiem [6] | 6-3 6-4 6-0 |
Stan Wawrinka’s road to the final
Tous droits réservés G. Chazalon
Wawrinka didn’t dropped a set in his first five matches but was pushed to five sets by Andy Murray in the semies. With a win on Sunday he will become the oldest champion in Paris since 34-year-old Andres Gimeno in 1972 and will be only the third man in the Open era, after Laver and Rosewall, to win three or more Grand Slam titles after turning 30.
I think to play Rafa on clay in French Open in a final is probably the biggest challenge you can have in tennis. He’s the best player ever on clay.No one will go on the court thinking he has no pressure. We both want to win the title, and we both gonna give it all on the court.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| R1 | Jozef Kovalik | 6-2 7-6 6-3 |
| R2 | Alexandr Dolgopolov | 6-4 7-6 7-5 |
| R3 | Fabio Fognini [28] | 7-6 6-0 6-2 |
| R4 | Gaël Monfils [15] | 7-5 7-6 6-2 |
| QF | Marin Cilic [7] | 6-3 6-3 6-1 |
| SF | Andy Murray [1] | 6-7 6-3 5-7 7-6 6-1 |
Novak Djokovic’ road to the final
Djokovic didn’t dropped a set in his first five matches but was pushed to five sets by Andy Murray in the semies. If he wins on Sunday he will become the eight male player to achieve the career Grand Slam, after Fred Perry, Donald Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| R1 | Jarkko Nieminen | 6-2 7-5 6-2 |
| R2 | Gilles Muller | 6-1 6-4 6-4 |
| R3 | Thanasi Kokkinakis | 6-4 6-4 6-4 |
| R4 | Richard Gasquet [20] | 6-1 6-2 6-3 |
| QF | Rafael Nadal [6] | 7-5 6-3 6-1 |
| SF | Andy Murray [3] | 6-3 6-3 5-7 5-7 6-1 |
Stan Wawrinka’s road to the final
With a win on Sunday, Wawrinka could become the first junior champion to win the men’s title since Mats Wilander in 1988.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| R1 | Marsel Ilhan | 6-3 6-2 6-3 |
| R2 | Dusan Lajovic | 6-3 6-4 5-7 6-3 |
| R3 | Steve Johnson | 6-4 6-3 6-2 |
| R4 | Gilles Simon [12] | 6-1 6-4 6-2 |
| QF | Roger Federer [2] | 6-4 6-3 7-6 |
| SF | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [14] | 6-3 6-7 7-6 6-4 |
Serena Williams road to the final
Much tougher than expected for Serena Williams who rallied four times (!) from one set down to reach the final. The best-ranked player she faced being Sara Errani, seeded 17. Sick in the semifinals, she beat the surprising Swiss Timea Bacsinszky after much drama.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| R1 | Andrea Hlavackova | 6-2 6-3 |
| R2 | Anna-Lena Friedsam | 5-7 6-3 6-3 |
| R3 | Victoria Azarenka [27] | 3-6 6-4 6-2 |
| R4 | Sloane Stephens | 1-6 7-5 6-3 |
| QF | Sara Errani [17] | 6-1 6-3 |
| SF | Timea Bacsinszky [23] | 4-6 6-3 6-0 |
Serena will be the huge favorite to lift the trophy on Saturday. That what she said about the pressure to be the player to beat year after year:
It’s not easy. Some days I feel it and the pressure gets to you. It’s kind of hard when you go to every single match and you’re the favourite to win and it’s bigger news when you lose than when you win. But there’s one thing that I learned when I was really young, when I had an opportunity to work with Billie Jean King. She said “Pressure is a privilege”. I’m in a position of privilege to be able to feel that pressure.
Lucie Safarova’s road to the final
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| R1 | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | 7-6 7-6 |
| R2 | Kurumi Nara | 6-2 6-0 |
| R3 | Sabine Lisicki [20] | 6-3 7-6 |
| R4 | Maria Sharapova [2] | 7-6 6-4 |
| QF | Garbine Muguruza [21] | 7-6 6-3 |
| SF | Ana Ivanovic [7] | 7-5 7-5 |
A Wimbledon semifinalist last year, Lucie Safarova reached her first Grand Slam final without losing a set, an impressive feat when you look at the players she faced: defending champion Maria Sharapova, Sabine Lisicki, Garbine Muguruza… She beat Ana Ivanovic 7-5 7-5 in the semifinals, after an nerve-wrecking end of match. Watch Lucie’s joy after the last point:
A popular player on the WTA tour, Safarova was congratulated by current and former players on Twitter after her victory over Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals:
OMG!!! Goose bumps…So happy for her!😘@luciesafarova #RG2015
— A. Pavlyuchenkova (@NastiaPav) June 4, 2015
Enjoy your 1st Grand Slam final! @luciesafarova @rolandgarros pic.twitter.com/nLnrC6unf5
— Barbara Schett-Eagle (@Babsschett) June 5, 2015
Phew….well done Lucie Safarova…that was so tense at the end. pic.twitter.com/xvmJ5K9rZT
— Jo Durie (@Jodurie) June 4, 2015
Asked if the “good girl” could win the title she said:
I hope so. I think sport should be about fair play. I think people should be nice to each other. Doesn’t matter if it’s in sports or in general. So that’s what I’m trying to do, even here. I have a few good friends on tour. It’s not easy when you play them, but that’s life.
Serena Williams – Lucie Safarova head to head: 8-0
Lucie Safarova has never beaten Serena Williams in eight meetings. Their most disputed match was in fact their first back in 2007, won by Serena 7-6 in the third.
| Year | Tournament | Surface | Winner | Score |
| 2014 | Beijing R16 | Hard | Serena Williams | 6-1 1-6 6-2 |
| 2014 | Montreal R16 | Hard | Serena Williams | 7-5 6-4 |
| 2013 | Charleston QF | Clay | Serena Williams | 6-4 6-1 |
| 2012 | Charleston F | Clay | Serena Williams | 6-0 6-1 |
| 2011 | Toronto QF | Hard | Serena Williams | 4-6 6-3 6-2 |
| 2009 | Toronto QF | Hard | Serena Williams | 6-3 6-2 |
| 2007 | Miami R32 | Hard | Serena Williams | 6-3 6-4 |
| 2007 | Hobart R16 | Hard | Serena Williams | 6-3 3-6 7-6 |
So, epic battle or routine win? Serena or Lucie? Who do you think will win? Please share your thoughts.
I’ll be watching the final at Roland Garros tomorrow and I’ll be rooting for Safarova, hoping she won’t be taken by nerves.
Who will win Roland Garros 2015?
- Serena Williams (43%, 105 Votes)
- Maria Sharapova (30%, 73 Votes)
- Simona Halep (11%, 28 Votes)
- Ana Ivanovic (4%, 10 Votes)
- Eugenie Bouchard (3%, 8 Votes)
- Other (3%, 8 Votes)
- Caroline Wozniacki (2%, 6 Votes)
- Petra Kvitova (2%, 5 Votes)
- Carla Suarez Navarro (1%, 2 Votes)
- Ekaterina Makarova (0%, 1 Votes)
- Andrea Petkovic (0%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 247
Loading ...With the help of official statistics provided by IBM, Kevin Mitchell gives his insight into the statistics that matter, and what it really takes to win Wimbledon.
