Safina's Summer Slide...
Most of the talk about Dinara Safina this year has centered on both her ascension (and retention of) the Number One ranking without having won a Grand Slam title, as well as her poor form in losing the 2009 Australian Open Final to Serena Williams, the 2009 French Open Final to Svetlana Kuznetsova and the Wimbledon semis to Venus Williams.
In between all that chatter, Safina has managed to win three titles this year and reach three other finals. However, Safina’s form during the summer hard-court swing has not been impressive heading into the 2009 U.S. Open. Dinara was upset by Jie Zheng in Los Angeles, then played very poorly in losing the final in Cincinnati to a resurgent, Jelena Jankovic. However, what’s most unsettling is Safina’s second round loss today to thirty-ninth ranked Frenchwoman, Aravane Rezai 3-6, 6-2. 6-4. During the loss, Safina committed seventeen double faults and other errors. Safina had beaten Rezai 6-1-6-0 at the 2009 French Open.
Dinara has said all her problems are in her head and not her strokes. Safina enters the 2009 U.S. Open as the Number One seed, but her summer preparations will definitely not fill her with tons of confidence. Her ability to find control during the next ten days will be critical for her success at the Open.
Dinara has said all her problems are in her head and not her strokes. Safina enters the 2009 U.S. Open as the Number One seed, but her summer preparations will definitely not fill her with tons of confidence. Her ability to find control during the next ten days will be critical for her success at the Open.
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