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Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Dinara Safina’s racket remained in one piece and she’s still in the field at the U.S. Open.
Those may be the only positive points for the top-ranked player in women’s tennis after a narrow first-round victory over an opponent ranked 166 places below her.
Safina took 2 hours, 35 minutes to beat Olivia Rogowksa of Australia 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium after trailing 3-0 in the final set.
Safina blew a set point before losing the first set on a double fault, one of 11 she served in the match. She had 48 unforced errors, while Rogowska had 65 and 13 double faults.
“I didn’t break any rackets and I didn’t get a warning, so that’s a positive,” Safina said in a courtside interview.
Rogowska, an 18-year-old wild-card entrant from Melbourne, said Safina’s serve “seemed to crumble a bit.”
“But she obviously picked up her game in the third and that’s obviously why she’s No. 1,” the Australian said.
Safina, 23, has struggled to live up to her status as the world’s top-ranked female player. The younger sister of two-time Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1 Marat Safin, she took over top spot in the WTA Tour’s singles rankings from Serena Williams on April 20. Although Safina is one of only three women to win three tournaments this year, she has yet to win a major.
“During the changeover, I said to myself, ‘Please just try to see the ball when you serve,” Safina said today. “When you serve, watch the ball until the end.”
Serve Problems
Her serve has let her down on crucial moments before.
Two weeks ago, she produced 17 double faults in a second- round loss to Aravane Rezai of France in Toronto, the second most served in a major or tour-level main-draw match this season.
Safina was in tears after losing the French Open final to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. She smashed her racket on the red clay court of Roland Garros after her seventh double fault on match point. It was her third loss in a Grand Slam final.
She lost the 2008 French Open final to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, while Serena Williams beat her in the final of the Australian Open this year. At Wimbledon, she won only one game in her semifinal against defending champion Venus Williams.
Serena Williams is ranked second on the WTA Tour, even though she’s the U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon champion. The American, who doesn’t always play a full schedule, told reporters in May that she was the real No. 1 and joked after her win at Wimbledon that Safina deserved to be No. 1 after winning tournaments in Rome and Madrid.
Calm Down
Safin needs to calm down and stop trying to defend her ranking, Nick Bollettieri, the former coach of 10 top-ranked players including Andre Agassi and Monica Seles, said in an interview today.
“I’m sure that she’s going to give it everything she has to try to win a Grand Slam,” he said.
Safina next plays 67th-ranked Kristina Barrois of Germany.
“Hopefully from today on, it’s going to get better,” Safina said. “I’ve been very close to winning. I’ve been in three finals. It’s just one step.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Rossingh at the U.S. Open in New York through the London sports desk at drossingh@bloomberg.net
“But she obviously picked up her game in the third and that’s obviously why she’s No. 1,” the Australian said.
Safina, 23, has struggled to live up to her status as the world’s top-ranked female player. The younger sister of two-time Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1 Marat Safin, she took over top spot in the WTA Tour’s singles rankings from Serena Williams on April 20. Although Safina is one of only three women to win three tournaments this year, she has yet to win a major.
“During the changeover, I said to myself, ‘Please just try to see the ball when you serve,” Safina said today. “When you serve, watch the ball until the end.”
Serve Problems
Her serve has let her down on crucial moments before.
Two weeks ago, she produced 17 double faults in a second- round loss to Aravane Rezai of France in Toronto, the second most served in a major or tour-level main-draw match this season.
Safina was in tears after losing the French Open final to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. She smashed her racket on the red clay court of Roland Garros after her seventh double fault on match point. It was her third loss in a Grand Slam final.
She lost the 2008 French Open final to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, while Serena Williams beat her in the final of the Australian Open this year. At Wimbledon, she won only one game in her semifinal against defending champion Venus Williams.
Serena Williams is ranked second on the WTA Tour, even though she’s the U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon champion. The American, who doesn’t always play a full schedule, told reporters in May that she was the real No. 1 and joked after her win at Wimbledon that Safina deserved to be No. 1 after winning tournaments in Rome and Madrid.
Calm Down
Safin needs to calm down and stop trying to defend her ranking, Nick Bollettieri, the former coach of 10 top-ranked players including Andre Agassi and Monica Seles, said in an interview today.
“I’m sure that she’s going to give it everything she has to try to win a Grand Slam,” he said.
Safina next plays 67th-ranked Kristina Barrois of Germany.
“Hopefully from today on, it’s going to get better,” Safina said. “I’ve been very close to winning. I’ve been in three finals. It’s just one step.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Rossingh at the U.S. Open in New York through the London sports desk at drossingh@bloomberg.net
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