Safarova eyes upset of ailing Serena

Serena Williams takes on Lucie Safarova in the French Open final on Saturday and the odds, on paper and also by the stats, are hugely in the American's favor.

Only the top seed's fragile state of health, it seems, stands in the way of what would be a 20th Grand Slam title - just two shy of the Open-era record of 22 set by Steffi Graf.

A new title to add to her collection would also take her halfway to winning all four Grand Slam titles in the same calendar year - a feat only previously achieved by four women in the history of the sport, the last being Graf in 1988.

At 33, Williams is the consumate finisher

In 23 Grand Slam finals, she has lost just four times - twice to sister Venus and once to each of Maria Sharapova and Samantha Stosur.

In contrast, Safarova, at 28, five years younger than Williams, will be playing in her first Grand Slam final after 12 years as a pro, mostly spent in the shadows.

Her head-to-head record against Williams is a dismal 0-8 and prior to this year she had never made it past the last 16 at Roland Garros in 10 previous unremarkable Paris campaigns.

To add weight to the challenge ahead of her, only twice in the history of the French Open has a player ranked outside the top 10 seeds won the title - once in 1933 and more recently in 2010 when Francesca Schiavone triumphed.

Williams, however, is not well physically.

She has struggled from the start of the tournament and things got worse when she came down with the flu after her third-round win over Victoria Azarenka.

She has lost the first set in four of her six matches to date and it's been her fighting spirit and the best serve ever seen in the women's game that has kept her afloat.

Williams' 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Swiss surprise Timea Bacsinszky in the semifinals was at times painful to watch as she coughed and spluttered and staggered around the court fighting her illness.

Struck by another bout of coughing, she was forced to abandon her courtside interview immediately after clinching the win over Bacsinszky after saying just a few words.

Later she told US TV that she had never felt so ill.

"I caught the flu after my third-round match and have been struggling ever since," she said.

"I never thought I could win and I didn't want to go to a third set.

"But I thought that if I was going to lose I had better go for winners. I was so tired and the next thing I knew I was in a third set. I don't know what happened."

On her prospects for Saturday's final, she added: "I just hope I can get better from here."

Safarova said that she has nothing to lose against Williams. "I mean Serena is No 1 in the world, a great player. I will just go there and play my game and obviously try and get the trophy."

If she wins she will be the first Czech player to win since Hana Mandlikova in 1981 - achieved before Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Head-to-head

Head-to-head record for the French Open women's final on Saturday (year, tournament, round, surface, winner; x denotes seeding):

Serena Williams (USA x1) vs Lucie Safarova (CZE x13)

Williams leads 8-0

2007 Hobart R16 Hard Williams 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5)

2007 Miami R32 Hard Williams 6-3, 6-4

2009 Toronto QF Hard Williams 6-3, 6-2

2011 Toronto QF Hard Williams 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

2012 Charleston F Clay Williams 6-0, 6-1

2013 Charleston QF Clay Williams 6-4, 6-1

2014 Montreal R16 Hard Williams 7-5, 6-4

2014 Beijing R16 Hard Williams 6-1, 1-6, 6-2

(China Daily 06/06/2015 page12)