Safina And Kuznetsova Win for Russian Semis

A pair of Russians - fourth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova and 13th-seeded Dinara Safina were Wednesday's quarterfinal winners at the 2008 French Open.

Dinara Safina came back from the dead for the second round in a row to leave Elena Dementieva dumbfounded at the French Open.

Safina, who fought back from match point down to beat Maria Sharapova on Monday, was again just a point from defeat at a set and 5-3 down against Dementieva.

But she somehow found a way to take the second set and then romped through the decider as her foe went into meltdown to end up on the wrong end of a 4-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-0 result.

"At 2-5 down, I knew I had to change my game completely. I thought I will give her the extra ball and I think she got confused. I was saying to her: 'OK, you have to hit the winner," said Safina.

"I was one step away (from losing)," Safina said, "so I'll be especially glad to be back tomorrow."

The former Roland Garros runner-up Kuznetsova handled Kaia Kanepi 7-5, 6-2 in an hour-and-a-half on Court Lenglen.

Kuznetsova is 4-3 lifetime against her fellow 22-year-old Safina, including a win in the 2006 French Open quarterfinals.

"Dinara is playing very well," Kuznetsova said. "She has too many lives, so I have to be careful with her."

(source Sportinglife,
photo/PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images,
FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images via Yahoo Sports)

via Great Tennis Photos