XXX Olympic Games 2010 » Dinara Safina

Serena Williams the one to beat in New York

admin — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:29:50 +0000

It’s hard to pick a clear winner for the US Open but you can’t really bet against Serena Williams when it comes to the Grand Slams, she has this knack of turning it on for the big events.
She hasn’t actually performed very well since Wimbledon, I’ve watched some of her matches and she’s lacked a bit of intensity and lost to players you wouldn’t expect, but I’m sure when it comes to a Grand Slam she’ll be very focused and turn it on.
But I do think the women’s draw at the US Open is so open, it’s really up for grabs.
It will be interesting to see how Kim Clijsters does having had two years out of the game. She’s made a pretty good comeback. In Cincinnati and Toronto she proved to everyone she can play well but I’m not sure she can go all the way.

Serena Williams

It would be a great story if she did win the US Open but physically I wonder if she can play seven matches at that kind of level.
Maria Sharapova has been playing a bit better, she made the final in Toronto although looked a bit tired by the end, but now she’s got her ranking back up and is seeded 29th. I think she’ll do well but, again, seven matches is a lot.
In Toronto she scraped through a few matches and when she lost the first set against Elena Dementieva in the final she called on her coach and said her arm was getting tired. I do wonder how she will cope but it depends how she does early on. If she can win her early rounds comfortably then she can save a bit of energy.
Dinara Safina deserves her number one ranking because she’s been the most consistent player on every surface over the last year.
She’s a tough opponent but she can be up and down, and I’m not too sure that on the hard courts she’s as effective as on a clay court. I’m sure she’ll do well, but winning it – I’m not too sure.
Like her sister, Venus Williams also hasn’t performed so well since Wimbledon and obviously grass is her best surface.
On hard courts she’s had some shocking losses – the other week it was against Kateryna Bondarenko, and these are players she should be beating comfortably.

Going into the US Open you would expect her to be playing a bit better but, again, it makes it more exciting.

After Serena there is no clear favourite. Flavia Pennetta and Sam Stosur have been playing very well – Sam, with the conditions and her serve and strength, is going to be a very dangerous opponent.

Talking of dangerous opponents, I don’t think that Laura Robson’s success in qualifying is that much of a surprise. I look at Laura and I expect her to do well, she’s young and she’s very talented. Laura’s got everything to play for.

For someone who’s 15 she’s big and strong, so physically she’s able to play against the older girls.

There’s no pressure on her at the moment and she can go out there and swing away. The other players don’t know her so well and they are going to feel the pressure.

On a personal note, I’m really sorry to be injured and missing what has always been my favourite tournament, even when I was a junior.
You get such a different buzz there and it’s probably the complete opposite to what you get at Wimbledon in terms of atmosphere. I think people are a bit more rowdy in New York and you can smell burgers and chips and everything else around the courts.

The people get into it. Half of them may not know too much about tennis but they pick a player they want to support and they get into it.

It’s always very humid at Flushing Meadows and the ball flies, it feels quite light there, and depending on your game style you either love it or you hate it.

Another thing about the US Open is that the junior players and the seniors all mix in, whereas at the other Grand Slam they’re separate. In New York everyone is together, so if you’re a junior player you could be having lunch next to Roger Federer, which is pretty cool.

Off the court it’s a bit of a commute, it can take an hour and a half if you’re stuck in rush hour to get from Manhattan to the tournament site. For players they have a coach or a car service but it’s the one Grand Slam where transportation is quite tough.

But that’s all part of it and I think everyone enjoys staying in New York, in terms of restaurants and shops.

If you’re doing well in the tournament then you don’t have time for shopping, so that’s probably a good thing, but you’ve got make time and get down to one of those department stores.

from: news.bbc.co.uk

Sharapova starts well in Toronto

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:41:46 +0000

Maria Sharapova continued her domination of fellow Russian and 10th seed Nadia Petrova with victory in round one of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
Former world number one Sharapova came through 6-3 6-4 for her eighth win in nine meetings with Petrova, and third this year.
Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine beat 13th seed Marion Bartoli of France 6-4 6-3.
France’s 15th seed Amelie Mauresmo was beaten 6-2 3-6 6-1 by Fransesca Schiavone of Italy.
World number 17 Samantha Stosur of Australia and Poland’s 14th seed Agnieszka Radwanska enjoyed straightforward wins, with leading names Dinara Safina and Serena and Venus Williams to play later in the week.

Maria Sharapova

Sharapova is currently ranked 49 in the world as she makes her way back after 10 months out following surgery.
The 22-year-old broke Petrova in game five as she eased through the first set and, after dropping serve at the start of the second, reeled off four games in a row.
Sharapova failed to serve out the match at 5-3 but made amends immediately by breaking back and finally clinching victory on her third match point.
“She had an opportunity to make the match 5-5 in the second and it was good that I finished it in two,” said Sharapova.
“I think we know each other’s game very well, I have a pretty solid game plan when I play her and the main thing is execution.
“If I do what I have in mind, I’m going to win the match.”
She added: “Coming back trying to get use to the situation again, you just hope you move forward and get better and better every match. That’s my goal right now.
“Obviously when I come into a tournament I want to win it but the mindset is to focus on every match.”

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8206406.stm

Svetlana Kuznetsova seized chance, but women’s game still seeks superstar

admin — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:14:36 +0000

It took Svetlana Kuznetsova just 74 minutes to clinch the women’s French Open title on Saturday, but this was a triumph that was more than a year in the making.
The Russian seventh seed blew away world No.1 Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier to secure a triumph that owes everything to her own intuition and desire to battle for her career.
Though Kuznetsova is still just 23, her life has been built around tennis. Over the past year, there were several occasions on which she contemplated walking away from a game that had steadily become a chore to her.
In the end, she had the courage to seek advice, never an easy task in the egocentric world of tennis, from those she respected. Those impromptu counselors included Roger Federer and even Safina’s brother, Marat Safin, who gave her a pep talk before the 2008 French Open.
The chat with Safin led to the abandonment, at least temporarily, of retirement plans. The discussion with Federer at the Beijing Olympic Games resulted in a move back to Russia, the homeland she left as a 13-year-old to pursue training opportunities in Spain.
Kuznetsova’s game has not directly improved since her return to Moscow, but her mindset has. Indeed, she is believed to spend less time on the practice court now, and a greater portion of her life socializing with friends.
It appears, however, that it was that newfound sense of inner calm which gave her the mental strength to fight past Serena Williams in a nerve-jangling semifinal and to surge away from a nervous Safina on Saturday.
Women’s tennis is still looking for one superstar to break clear of the pack and establish herself as the undisputed leader of the sport. Safina had a chance to move some way toward that mark at Roland Garros, but she fluffed her lines when it really mattered after putting together an outstanding tournament. Kuznetsova probably lacks the all-round consistency and weapons to get to No.1, but she is a deserving and worthy champion.
Once again, the women’s game has proven itself wide open, and Kuznetsova had the fortitude to grasp an opportunity where others faltered.

source: sports.yahoo.com