Dinara Safina: Mental Battles

"I try to do something good, but when it doesn't go good, then I go like too much into myself, what I'm doing right, wrong, instead of thinking more what I have to do with the ball."

--Dinara Safina, #1 ranked women's tennis player in the world and top-seed woman at the U.S. Open in New York.

New York, New York (USA)-- Dinara Safina came very close to becoming the first top-seeded woman to lose in the first round of the 2009 U.S. Open. She entered the match with the best women's winning percentage (52-12, .813). She was matched against Olivia Rogowska, a 18-year-old from Australia, a wild card competitor with one single career title as a professional and one victory over a top-50 player.

Rogowska won the first set in a tiebreaker when Safina seemed to lose her chronic war on nerves.

No top seed on the women's side at the U.S. Open in the Open era had ever lost a first-round match. It's only happened four times in the majors in 41 years. The highest seed to lose in those circumstances was Martina Navratilova, a third seed in 1976.

However, Safina worked her way back into the match and she was able to subdue the No. 167-ranked player in the world. The final was 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4, but Safina was challenged by Rogowska and by her own emotions.

"A total mental battle," ESPN analyst Mary Joe Fernandez observed. "She fought herself."

Despite her overall success, Safina continues to struggle mentally.

Excerpts from ESPN.com (September 1, 2009)

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Dinara Safina: Too Much Pressure in French Open Championship Loss

"The pressure I put on myself because I really wanted to win.

"I just didn't handle it. I was a little bit desperate on the court, and didn't do the things that I had to do. I didn't stay tough mentally. I lost myself."

--Dinara Safina, the world's number one ranked women's tennis player, after losing 6-4 6-2 to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova on Saturday, June 6, 2009.

In a clue as to her pre-match mental mindset Safina had said before the final, "How much proof do I need to give to people that I deserve to be number one?" Safina had been irritated about criticism concerning whether she deserved to be ranked at the top. Perhaps that was where the excessive pressure came from.

Kuznetsova took advantage of the No. 1-ranked Safina's nerves and frequent errors and won the French Open final, a 74-minute match which ended with Safina's seventh double-fault.

"She was too tight. She had so much pressure on her. I just played the match. It was just one more match. ... Definitely it was a lot of emotions inside of me, but I control it."

--Svetlana Kutnetsova, 2004 U.S. Open champion.


So, what has Safina learned having now funished runner-up in the season's opening two majors?

"Not to put so much pressure on myself."

Excerpts from Reuters and Yahoo.com (June 7, 2009)

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