Paris: Serena Williams plays Lucie Safarova in the French Open final on Saturday and the odds, on paper and also by the statistics, are hugely in the American's favour.
Here’s what you need to know about the women finalists of the French Open 2015.
Head to head:
(year, tournament, round, surface, winner; x denotes seeding)
Serena Williams (USA x1) v Lucie Safarova (CZE x13)
Williams leads 8-0
2007 Hobart R16 Hard Williams 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5)
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.
Road to final (x denotes seeding):
Serena Williams:
1st rd: bt Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) 6-2, 6-3
2nd rd: bt Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
3rd rd: bt Victoria Azarenka (BLR x27) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
4th rd: bt Sloane Stephens (USA) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
QF: bt Sara Errani (ITA x17) 6-1, 6-3
SF: bt Timea Bacsinszky (SUI x23) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
Lucie Safarova:
1st rd: bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (11/9)
2nd rd: bt Kurumi Nara (JPN) 6-2, 6-0
3rd rd: bt Sabine Lisicki (GER x20) 6-3, 7-6 (7/2)
4th rd: bt Maria Sharapova (RUS x2) 7-6 (7/3), 6-4
QF: bt Garbine Muguruza (ESP x21) 7-6 (7/3), 6-3
SF: bt Ana Ivanovic (SRB x7) 7-5, 7-5
Pointers:
If she wins Williams will:
- record her 20th Grand Slam victory and third at Roland Garros. The Open-era record since 1968 is 22 held by Steffi Graf and the all-time record is 24 held by Margaret Court.
- stand halfway to the calendar-year Grand Slam, having won the Australian Open in January. Only three other women have won all four Grand Slam titles in the same year - Maureen Connolly 1953), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988)
- extend her margin as the oldest woman to have won the French Open title in the Open-era. She already set that two years ago when she won at 31.
- make it three Grand Slam wins in a row, having won he US Open to close last year. The last player to pull off that treble was Monica Seles in 1991-92
If she wins Safarova will:
- win her first Grand Slam title in her first final at the age of 28. This is the 40th time she has played in a Grand Slam tournament.
- be the first Czech woman to win the women's titles at Roland Garros since Hana Mandlikova in 1991. Compatriot Petra Kvitova won Wimbledon last year.
- be the lowest ranking seed at 13 to win the French Open title since Francesca Schiavone, who was ranked 17th when she won in 2010.
- be the 11th left-hander to win the women's singles at Roland Garros, the last being Monica Seles in 1992.
