Tennis: FO women's final decided: Samantha Stotur vs. Francesca Schiavone

Francesca Schiavone Samantha Stotur

So it's been decided that French Open will have a first-time grand slam winner this Saturday. Samantha Stosur defeated Jelena Jankovic easily and Schiavone defeated Dementieva after she retired losing the first set tie-break.

While Stosur's been playing solid the whole clay court season and her arrival in the final is not a big surprise, Schiavone on the other hand, a veteran on the tour at her late 20s, who is thought of as a decent player with untapped potentials, is a big surprise finalist. It is unfortunate for Dementieva who had to retire after the first set. Many thought this FO will be the one for her, she is arguably the best player on the tour who have not won a grand slam yet. Oftentimes the critics refer to her nerves as a major roadblock, but this time it is unfortunately an injury that's stopping her from finally winning a slam (the four semi-finalist all have a losing record against her, and she is also the only one of two who've been in a major final). It must be heart-wrenching to let something so unpredictable to ruin an important moment in her career.

But, the final is set, and the game must go on, It'll be Stosur, the talented Aussie, who's a consummate professional with multiple weapons on a tennis court, who's beaten Justin Henin and Serena Williams en route to the final, versus Schiavone, the feisty and tricky Italian who must be on cloud nine after reaching the FO final. Who will it be? On paper they're pretty even, with neither having prior experience, it should be an interesting battle that will come down to nerves and execution. I predict Stosur winning in two sets and thus becoming the first Australian to win a grand slam since the 1950s.