All four semifinalists are contending for their first career singles title at Roland Garros.
Ana Ivanovic will be playing in her fifth semifinal of 2008. The Serbian has posted a 2-2 record in semifinals this year, with wins at the Australian Open (d. Hantuchova in SF, l. to Sharapova in F) and Indian Wells (d. Hantuchova en route to singles title) and losses at Sydney (l. to Henin) and Berlin (l. to Dementieva). All-time, Ivanovic will be playing in her 18th career semifinal (9-8 all-time) and has reached the semifinal round in four of the last five Grand Slams.
Ivanovic has reached the semifinal or better in four of the last five Grand Slams.
Jelena Jankovic will be making her fourth trip to the semifinal round of a Grand Slam (2006 US Open, 2007 Roland Garros, 2008 Australian Open) and will be seeking her first berth into a Grand Slam final. So far this season, Jankovic is 1-3 in semifinal matches, with her lone win coming at Rome en route to her first singles title of the year and sixth of her career.
Svetlana Kuznetsova will be appearing in the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the fourth time in her career. She has won her three previous semifinal matches, including her 2004 US Open semifinal match en route to her only Grand Slam title. The Russian is 3-1 in Tour semifinals this year.
Dinara Safina has advanced to a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in her career.
In the first five rounds at Roland Garros, neither Ivanovic nor Kuznetsova have dropped a set. Ivanovic has lost only 20 matches while Kuznetsova has dropped 26 matches en route to the semifinals.
En route to the semifinals, Safina defeated two Top 10 opponents – No.1 Sharapova (4r) and No.8 Dementieva (QF) – to earn her 12th and 13th career victory over Top 10 opponents. It marks the second consecutive tournament that Safina has played in which she has defeated at least two Top 10 opponents. At Berlin she No.1 Henin, No.6 S.Williams, and No.9 Dementieva en route to her first singles title in 2008 (sixth of her career).
Safina’s victories over No.1 seed Maria Sharapova and No.13 seed Elena Dementieva were both recorded having saved mp en route; as a point of interest, no Grand Slam women’s singles champion has won the title after saving mp’s in two matches.
From the 39 nations that were represented at the start of the tournament, just two (2) – Russia and Serbia – still have a chance to take home the women's singles title. Russia started the tournament with 18 players in the main draw, while the lone two Serbs are still contending. (WTA)
First time in Open Era both semifinals have been all-countrywoman affairs – Russia (Safina vs. Kuznetsova) and Serbia (Ivanovic vs. Jankovic).
