Francesca Schiavone will play Samantha Stosur in Saturday's French Open final, the latest surprise in a week full of them at Roland Garros. The 17th-seeded Schiavone became the first Italian woman to reach a major final when opponent Elena Dementieva unexpectedly retired from their semifinal with a left calf injury after losing the first set 7-6 (3) Thursday. No. 7 Stosur then became the first Australian woman in 30 years to reach a Grand Slam final by drubbing former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-2. Both Schiavone and Stosur are first-time Grand Slam finalists. “We're both out here to enjoy it,” Stosur said. “We're both going to be excited. It's a great opportunity for both of us.” Stosur won with the same big serve and booming forehand that helped her upset four-time French Open champion Justine Henin and 12-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams this week. The two semifinals lasted barely two hours between them, and the first match ended abruptly. After Dementieva lost the first set, she walked up to Schiavone, who was sitting in her changeover chair, and extended a hand in concession. “For the moment, I don't understand what's going on,” Schiavone said. The Italian then fell to her knees to kiss the court in a reprise of her quarterfinal celebration, and rose with a clay-caked grin. How did the clay taste? “It was good,” Schiavone said. “So good.” The 29-year-old Schiavone had never previously advanced beyond the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam. “I've already made history for my country,” she said. “In Italy, also, they are very happy, and is time to enjoy for us, for everybody.” While Italians celebrated, Dementieva sobbed before heading for the exit. It's the first time in the Open era that a woman retired in a semifinal or final at Roland Garros. The Russian said she suffered a tear in her calf in the second round, and she nearly retired during a match last week. The second match was even shorter than the first, lasting only an hour. Stosur became the first Australian woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Wendy Turnbull, the runner-up at the 1980 Australian Open. “I can't believe I'm here,” Stosur told the crowd after the match. “It wasn't easy to get here. I'm very pleased.” She began the semifinal swinging with the same confidence she showed in her earlier upsets, and after falling behind 2-0 in the second set, she swept the final six games. Stosur hit seven aces, lost only six points on her first serve and doubled the overmatched Jankovic in winners, 18-9. “She's a strong girl,” Jankovic said. “You can see by looking at her physically. She can hit pretty big, and she has one of the strongest serves in the women's game.” Long regarded as a doubles specialist, Stosur cracked the top 10 for the first time last month. She's now 6-19 against top-five opponents - and 2-0 this week. Her 20-2 record this year on clay is the best on the women's tour. Seeded fifth, Dementieva was seeking her first Grand Slam title playing in her 46th major event. She said might be forced to skip Wimbledon this month. Zimonjic, Srebotnik win mixed doubles Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia have rallied to win the mixed doubles title at the French Open, defeating Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and Julian Knowle of Austria 4-6, 7-6 (5), 11
