Kuznetsova wins French Open title

Svetlana Kuznetsova beat fellow Russian and world number one Dinara Safina to win the French Open at Roland Garros.

Seventh seed Kuznetsova, 23, controlled a tense encounter to come through 6-4 6-2 for her second major title, following victory at the 2004 US Open.

Safina had hoped to confirm her number one status with a first Grand Slam title, but was well below her best and double-faulted on match point.

Kuznetsova reeled off the last four games to win in one hour 14 minutes.

"Today I think she was too tight," Kuznetsova said of her opponent. "She had so much pressure on her but I could bring my better game today - that's why I won."

An emotional Safina slammed her racquet into the dirt in frustration after making her seventh double-fault of the day on match point.

The 23-year-old has now lost in the French Open final for two years running, and was also heavily beaten by Serena Williams in January's Australian Open final.

An emotional Safina slammed her racquet into the dirt in frustration after making her seventh double-fault of the day on match point.

The 23-year-old has now lost in the French Open final for two years running, and was also heavily beaten by Serena Williams in January's Australian Open final.