Two things are definite; the female tennis world has a brand new no.1 and the French Open will have a first-time champion to lift the Coupe de Suzanne Lenglen. We can only hope for a third first in recent times and keep our fingers crossed that the ladies final at Roland Garros will be something to savour rather than instantly forget.

Eight years have elapsed since the final extended to three sets and the last five showdowns for the title have been disappointing affairs with the champion almost completely dominant. Not the greatest advertisement to legitimise equal prize money it has to be said but we are now living in a politically correct world where market values don’t seem to count for much.

But let us not jump to negative conclusion and instead contemplate the fact Ana Ivanovic, after twice being expected to lose major finals and doing exactly that, is now the favourite for the title whilst Dinara Safina is a player who simply refuses to accept defeat. Given these two ingredients we might just be in for a treat.

In terms of entertainment value the two semi-finals could not have been more contrasting. Safina, who had battled back from match point down against both Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva, had a far less testing time against a disappointing Svetlana Kuznetsova. Little of the tennis rose anything above the standard of average and the supposedly senior Russian, many people’s tip for the title from the outset, was beset by an untimely bout of nerves.

However the all Serbian battle between Ivanovic and her Fed Cup team-mate Jelena Jankovic was not only nearly twice as long time-wise but many times more entertaining. With the world’s top ranking at stake, the upper hand switched across the net with the regularity of a rat-tat-tat rally and finally some forceful, intelligent play from Ivanovic prevailed.

She is everything that the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour could want from a world no.1; photogenic, intelligent, aware that she has a role to fill in marketing the game but also a determined competitor who is prepared to battle against the tension that so obviously affects her at times of stress and on this occasion admirably came out on top.

She eventually beat Jankovic because she possessed greater power and more variety. Both Serbs are statuesque players but Ivanovic has superior ability on the serve and since losing almost a stone in weight, moves better from side to side. She did allow Jankovic to disturb her rhythm in the midst of the match when she lost seven games in succession.

Ultimately it was a question of which player would take risks and be the more enterprising. At the crucial moment, Jankovic grew tentative and Ivanovic sensed her opportunity, pouncing with some brutally struck returns. Undeniably it was a test of her endeavour and Ivanovic passed with distinction.

Things could be even more demanding against Safina who goes into the final on a 12-match winning streak after taking the title in Berlin last month. Rather than being depleted from her two lengthy preceding matches, she took a positive attitude from the outset against Kuznetsova and was rewarded for her enterprise. The Safina serve and return were the key components to the match. She landed 67 percent of her first serves and attacked Kuznetsova's second serve relentlessly winning 15 of 20 points played on the 2006 Roland Garros runner-up's second serve.

Meanwhile a morose Kuznetsova spent much of the match fighting herself as well as much as Safina. She repeatedly shook her head in disgust before swiping away errant balls in disdain. Rarely did she show anything other than the body language of a woman burdened by the occasion. It was most certainly not what many of us expected from the battler from St. Petersburg.

Let’s hope the final does not once again serve up what we have come to expect from what should be the climax of the women’s game on clay.