Paris, France (Sports Network) - Svetlana Kuznetsova captured her second career Grand Slam title on Saturday with a straight-set victory over fellow Russian Dinara Safina in the final of the 2009 French Open.
Kuznetsova earned a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over the top-seeded Safina for her second major championship, and first since the 2004 U.S. Open as a 19-year-old. She was also the runner-up at the 2006 French Open, losing to Justine Henin, and also fell to the Belgian great in the 2007 U.S. Open final.
"It's been so many years since I won [the first] Grand Slam," said Kuznetsova courtside after the match. "I knew I was going to play my best game. I was very calm, but this is a big moment for me."
Safina, meanwhile, is still trying for a first Grand Slam title despite owning the world's top ranking. She was a loser to Ana Ivanovic in last year's French final and fell to Serena Williams in the title match at the Australian Open earlier this year.
"I'm back in the same situation as last year," said a dejected Safina during the trophy ceremony after the match. "Hopefully, one day I can win here."
The 23-year-old Safina entered Saturday's final riding a 16-match winning streak with titles in Rome and Madrid. She had just one loss in 21 matches on clay this year, but that setback came against Kuznetsova in the Stuttgart final last month. The two also met in the Rome final with Safina coming out on top in straight sets.
On Saturday, it looked more like the Stuttgart final, which Kuznetsova won in straight sets.
Safina won the first three points of Saturday's match on the way to a break of serve, but Kuznetsova quickly regrouped. She won the next eight points, breaking back at love before holding serve with four straight points.
Both players settled into the match from there until the eighth game, when a fortunate bounce went Kuznetsova's way. With a break point, Kuznetsova sent a backhand across the net and the ball skipped off the service line and stayed low, going under Safina's racket.
Serving for the set with a 5-3 edge, Kuznetsova didn't even win a point as Safina broke at love to keep the set alive -- but only for one more game.
Kuznetsova quickly took control of the 10th game and earned a pair of break points. She needed only one, ripping a backhand down the line that Safina barely reached, breaking serve for a third time and finishing the set in 39 minutes.
Each player had more unforced errors than winners in the sloppy opening set, as Safina posted five winners with 12 mistakes, including four double faults, and Kuznetsova countered with nine winners and 13 errors.
The first break point of the second set didn't come until the sixth game when Safina fell behind 15-40. She then fired a forehand wide to give Kuznetsova the break and a 4-2 edge.
Kuznetsova held serve to solidify the break and Safina had no answer. She quickly fell behind while serving in the eighth game and handed Kuznetsova the match with a double fault on the first championship point.
"She's better than me, she's No. 1 in the world, but today I think she was just too tight," Kuznetsova remarked about her opponent.
This was the 14th meeting between the two. Safina now holds an 8-6 edge, but Kuznetsova has won two of the three matchups in French Open play. Kuznetsova won a quarterfinal in 2006 and Safina captured a semifinal match last year.
Saturday also marked the third-ever all-Russian Grand Slam final. Anastasia Myskina beat Elena Dementieva in the 2004 French Open title match and Kuznetsova beat Dementieva at the '04 U.S. Open.
Kuznetsova captured her 11th career title, including her second of 2009, and improved to 11-18 all-time in finals. Safina's career title match record is even at 11-11, with a mark of 2-4 this year.