Eurosport - Wed, 02 Sep 09:43:00 2009
Dinara Safina barely resembled a player rated as the best in women's tennis as she stuttered and stumbled her way into the US Open second round with a 6-7 6-2 6-4 win over little-known Australian Olivia Rogowska.
The Russian was in danger of suffering the humiliation of becoming the first women's top seed to perish in the first round of the US Open as she littered the Arthur Ashe Stadium with a heap of unforced errors.
Trailing 3-0 in the deciding set, Safina's appearance in New York looked set to be a fleeting one but she managed to save face by subduing the plucky challenge of the 167th-ranked Rogowska after two hours 35 minutes of see-saw action.
With her movement around court being anything but smooth, the Russian was a constant source of free points for Rogowska as she racked up a jaw-dropping 11 double faults and 48 unforced errors.
She led 5-3 in the first set and blew four set points as she misfired shots far and wide, leaving her coach Zeljko Krajan to shake his head in frustration as he watched on from the stands.
The 18-year-old Rogowska had been expected to be a mere stepping stone in Safina's journey to the latter rounds but instead chose to rattle her more illustrious opponent by taking the opening set on a double fault.
Safina pulled rank in the second set but the jitters again returned during the decider before she finally let out a huge sigh of relief after realising she had just spared herself from earning a dubious distinction at the Open.
The 23-year-old, who described her win as "a little bit ugly," will be looking for a vast improvement in form when she takes on Kristina Barrois in the next round.
Germany's 67th-ranked Barrois beat Poland's Urszula Radwanska 6-4 6-4.
Ana Ivanovic discovered there was no where to hide at Flushing Meadows as she slumped out of the US Open in the first round with a 2-6 6-3 7-6 defeat by Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko .
The Serbian 11th seed, who has struggled with her form all season, was beaten in the opening round of a major for the first time in her career.
Ivanovic opted to take refuge under the tournament's official towel during the changeovers but that failed to put off Bondarenko, who saved a match point before burying the 2008 French Open champion's title hopes.
The 21-year-old Ivanovic looked to have staged a great escape when she clawed back from a break down in the decider and then watched Bondarenko double fault on her first match point.
But the Ukrainian never lost belief and sealed a memorable victory after almost two and a half hours of high drama when Ivanovic smacked a forehand into the net.
Jelena Jankovic, runner-up last year to Serena Williams, kicked off her US campaign with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Italian Roberta Vinci.
The fifth-seeded Jankovic needed third-set tie-breaks to beat Vinci in their two previous meetings, but wasted little time in Louis Armstrong Stadium to advance to the second round.
The 24-year-old Serb, who committed just 11 unforced errors in outclassing her opponent, served a love-game to end the 63-minute match when the Italian's service return sailed long.
Reigning French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova shook off a slow start to advance, the Russian sixth seed ousting Germany's Julia Goerges 6-3 6-2.
Kuznetsova, who won her first of two career Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 US Open, next faces Latvia's 96th-ranked Anastasija Sevastova, who ousted Thailand's 90th-rated Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3, 7-5.
The 2004 champion needed only 62 minutes to move on, winning 10 of the final 12 games and rescuing three break points in the second set to hold off 92nd-ranked Goerges.
The 2006 champion Maria Sharapova made a stylish return to Flushing Meadows, walloping Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3 6-0, while fourth seed Elena Dementieva was far too strong for France's Camille Pin running out a 6-1 6-2 winner.
China's Peng Shuai, a possible fourth-round foe for Safina, opened with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Slovakia's Jarmila Groth. Peng next faces Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, who ousted French 16th seed Virginie Razzano 6-4 6-3.
Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Kazakh Galina Voskoboeva 6-4 6-0 and next faces Croatian qualifier Petra Martic, who eliminated France's Severine Bremond 6-4 6-2.
Watch the US Open day three LIVE from 4.00pm on Wednesday on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521); Also available on your PC via the Eurosport Player - click on the link under the picture to subscribe.
Comment 24 - 43 of 43
is this really Jude, whos being polite and "nice" to me???
whats eurosport coming to???
Jude apologies acccepted. i dint take offence in the first place. so its ok
we have been fighting so crazily like cats and dogs this new found camaraderie is so effing abnormal.
so lets be normal again and go after each others jugular.( jus kidding) ....dont start literally doing it- like you always do.
at the end of the year. She'll earn millions more for her achievement and you'll still be just as poor. Who'll be laughing then, criticise all you want, it will change nothing and your insults will fall on deaf ears.
aaditya, I have digs at people that deserve it. They have nothing interesting to add other than make rude and personal remarks towards players and other bloggers. So when someone like me dishes it out to them they cry foul!!! By they way, yes that is my real face it is what nature gave me and I am not ashamed of it, not like some who hide theirs and their true identities. The filth that is spilled on this site is dispeakable and the ignorance displayed on tennis and on the players is laughable. Most of you consider yourselves experts and the only one's worth being on this site. What I have come to realise is that there is a certain group of you who prefers to use this site as a communication channel. You don't use it to discuss tennis issues or to comment on the actual articles dispayed. You use it to insult and abuse each other like children, and you do it by having digs at each other's favourite players whether you mean what you say or not. What Eurosport is trying to do is obvious raise attention and controvercy and all of you fall for it. My comments were not about conspiracy, I gave you enough facts to support my statement. The performance of Dinara and Venus was exactly the same. They both had a 3 set win and were seriously tested by their opponents (give them credit). Your arguement is Dinara ranked No1 should not have struggled but it is ok for Venus ranked 3 to do so. Venus has won a gazzilion number of Slams as everyone reminds us and the other none. So who performed the worst here, the 29 year old veteran or the new kid on the block who is only 22. XellOs crawl back under the fungus you came from. How is it Dinara's fault for being No1 and why is it a controversy that she hasn't won a Slam? Why don't you go out there and show her how to win 1,do you even own a racquet??? You complain about the number of double faults, her facial gestures LOL. She's coping with the pressure just fine, she's still No1 and will be at the end o
Aaditya, I certainly did not mean to mock your use of English and apologies if it came across that way and I genuinely mean that. I would never mock somebodies use of a language that is not their mother tongue. I would like to state that straight away, all sniping aside, that is something I would not do.
jude im not mad or angry.
thanks for mocking my english and my spells.
i never felt typo errors would upset you.
also english isnt my natural language( mother toungue)
i can speak and read and write 6 languages and i dont need to compare my english with you.
im happy if your english and your vocabulary is better than mine.
what suprises me is how desperate you are in getting me banned because i dont idol worship your nadal.
inspite of your character assassination - i have always substantiated my tirade against nadal always.
he is the only top 5 mens player who openly scowls when hes broken or the opponent is winning.
he HAS officially gone on record opposing stringent drug testing ( the only top 5 player to do so)
he has in the past used toilet breaks when hes losing a tie break ( never ever done by federer)
he HAS baggy eyes and peri orbital edema.
after a few years when nadals skeletons come tumblling out ( ala marion jones) i will be happy to visit you with a box of kleenex.
till then enjoy tennis and plan other ways of banning me.
Aaditya sweatpea I only have the ONE account, dont have the time or energy to be logging in under different names unlike you. I love reading your posts, your spelling mistakes and the way you use words in the wrong context really amuse me!!! If you were only as intelligent as me Aaditya, you really wouldnt be so bad at all!!!! Mwah!! x
jude...lol doesnt it anger you to see my posts??
the fact that im posting here means im not banned. simple. got it?
if plain, unadulteragted, wholesome garbage and filth like you isnt banned, why bother about me.
i have miles to go before i fall to your depths. till then keep trying.
P.s.
i havent been replying to your desperate personal posts for sometime now ignoring it with the disdain it warrants. but today i wanted to tell you what you are and enjoyed doing it. go one now, cry and create a mess baby.
now you can also log in with all your different log in names and begin the thumbs down furiously.
con, you sound bit sad and desperate coming up with all these conspiracy theories
sick and tired of your posts saying how eurosport is trying to "arouse animosity towards Dinara", maybe it hasnt been the nicest to her, but its safinas fault for bringing this about
being the world no.1 shes always gonna be under the spotlight, especially with all the controversy of not having won a slam etc, and a FACT, she doesnt get half the respect as say henin did when she was no.1
its up to her to shut all the critics up, if she won this match say 6-2 6-1, less than 10 double faults and 20 errors (which seems impossible for safina to manage), im sure they wont be any of this debate
and like someone said, her gestures and body languagse in games show shes just simply not mentally strong enough to cope with all this pressure
No.11 Aaditya has the claws out AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN about Nadal!!!! This is getting so funny!!! Aaditya you are surely OBSESSED with Nadal!!! What on earth does he have to do with a post about Safina? A scowl on his face? At least he doesn't bawl his eyes out like a BUBBLY CHILD!!! Have you not been banned from here yet by the way?
Con i see your point with the comparision of V and Safina only thing is V isn't world number 1 and a has no past history of coming close to losing in the first round while being number 1. That is possibly why though both players where close to losing one is in a higher position and it is not the first time Safina being number 1 and playing badily has come into question, on this one the media rightly puts it like that because its becoming something they have come to expect. Its not nice granted but what else do they have to go on the last match in a slam she played that was awful was semi's of wimbledon going down 0 and 1
Its the same old thing with Safina however i give her 10/10 for just getting the win but give her no hope of winning this slam. Rather sad really for a world number 1 to be basically schooled by number 167 never having played a slam senior level or on the senior WTA level. Laughable really and Safina should address these problems because if a little girl can cause her such problems what more someone with more experience.
sanchez santos - LOL i think you are one of the very few on this site who agree with me on anything. about safinas game I feel she will fare better if she breathes easy and smiles more and plays like shes the number one and got nothing to lose. she makes it appear shes always tortured.
con - i actually like your face. if that is really your pic, you are quite a head turner. i dont agree with sancchez on your looks. but i dont like some comments you make, especially unwarranted personal digs at people.
talking about who in the top 10 ccomes across as classy and dignified, tough question, i like elena ddementievas composure and attitude
and if you ask about sheer looks i find chakvetadze real haute.
not acknowledging her opponent's effort and talent-her opponent is 167 in the world(yeah she is young but so far nobody has heard of her,and is far from being amongst the best)
and conspiracy theory-how people write about Safina and how they wrote about Venus(Safina is No.1 in the world and it's possible that the same person didn't write about Safina and Venus and that these two journalist just have different styles).
Name one conspiracy theory! She's not lacking form, she proved it by winning a very tough match of which you are not acknowledging her opponent's effort and talent.
Con-I just think she has the easiest draw and that despite her lack of form she will get to QF!And it's you who is
tar and feathering everybody for no good reason and making conspiracy theories.
honeybeecro7, same applies to Serena, Venus, Sharapova so what's your point?????? She's still in the draw just like the others so why are you tar and feathering her????
You're a total waist of time and oxygen Sanchez. As always, you've nothing meaningful or interesting to discuss.
Con-comment 18!Okay it seems to me you don't read anybody's comment from start to finish!
virtually nobody dangerous or well known before quarter-finals-IF YOU LOOK AT THE DRAW SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO PLAY ANYBODY IN TOP 20 BEFORE QF(if that isn't easy draw I don't know what is-she can meet only two players you mentioned on route to final)
I think she will get to quarter finals even if she is struggling because other players in that side of the draw simply don't have enough experience in these kind of matches-I OBVIOUSLY MENTIONED THAT SHE WILL GET TO QF, WITH THIS DRAW IT WOULD BE A TRAGEDY IF SHE DIDN'T.
Waiting.........
I've got a match in 2 hours so make it quick!
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