French Open - Safina: I didn't handle the pressure well

Eurosport - Sat, 06 Jun 23:08:00 2009

Dinara Safina said she was so desperate to win her first Grand Slam title that she heaped unrealistic expectations on herself.

Dinara Safina of Russia reacts during her women's final against compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova at the French Open REUTERS - 0

"The pressure I put on myself because I really wanted to win," the world number one said after losing 6-4 6-2 to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

"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," added a teary-eyed Safina.

In 2008, Safina had been the 13th seed and fought from match points down in two matches en route to the final only to run out of puff against Ana Ivanovic.

Twelve months on, the 23-year-old arrived as the overwhelming favourite to win the title as she had lost only one match on clay all season before the final.

She appeared to be hurtling towards the title when she dropped only five games in total through her first four matches.

She came unstuck against Kuznetsova, the same player who had handed Safina her only previous defeat on clay this season.

Asked what she had learned from her third runner-up finish at a major, in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper, she said: "Not to put so much pressure on myself."

Safina, who has now finished runner-up in the season's opening two majors, is guaranteed to hold on to the number one spot until after Wimbledon but questions about her status will increase after she failed to join the grand slam winners' club.

Serena Williams, the 10-times grand slam champion and holder of the US and Australian Open titles, suggested recently that she was still the real number one.

Irked by the criticism, Safina had said before the final, "How much proof do I need to give to people that I deserve to be number one?"

On Saturday she added: "I just wanted to win. I didn't win it, and now it's disappointing."

Reuters

Comment 12 - 31 of 31

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  1. safina is crazy

    From Dido, on Mon 8 Jun 7:09AM

  2. Twice this year she cant get the Slam title. Svetlana­ is so much better in court! If you cant win Svetlana­ now, you will have amore tougher time to win. Here is­ the chnace for you to win yet then again, you cant :-(.­ Wish u all the the Luck.

    From Bblee, on Mon 8 Jun 2:08AM

  3. In the last year Dinara has greatly improved her mental­ attitude, but unfortunately not yet enough to cope with­ the pressure of being the No 1 player & being in a­ Slam final.
    Maybe she needs to drop to no 2 & then,­ if she's laying the no 1 player, she won;t be­ expected to win & will be able to play her game­ without being in the spotlight as the favourite.

    From dianabc44, on Sun 7 Jun 9:04PM

  4. So if she handle the pressure exactly when is she going­ to handle it because time waits for no one not in­ tennis, she better get with this pressure thing becaue­ it really is getting old number 1 no slam. At least­ Jankovic stepped at aside when the pot got hot.

    From janice m, on Sun 7 Jun 8:44PM

  5. I love you Dinara

    From erol, on Sun 7 Jun 6:38PM

  6. Hold on,Dinara, I'm sure by the time you'll­ quit tennis you'ld have won just as many grand slam­ titles as Kournikova did, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah­ ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!

    From P. E, on Sun 7 Jun 6:05PM

  7. I watched this match from beginning to end, and it was­ clear that Kuznetsova is the superior player. I­ don't know if Safina is a one dimensional player,­ as I have not seen her in action enough, but she was­ made to look so, throughout this match. Her losing had­ nothing to do with pressure, and all to do with the­ tactical superiority of her opponent.

    From almightydread, on Sun 7 Jun 1:01PM

  8. So, according to you lot, You have to win a GS in order­ to be Number One. Well, Kuzzy has won 2 GS and she HAS­ NEVER BEEN Number One. So how do you equate that?

    From Phillipa, on Sun 7 Jun 12:19PM

  9. @robertxxx111
    OMG dude....
    YOu're so persistent...

    From Vladimir, on Sun 7 Jun 12:18PM

  10. come on guys, I 'm not particularly a great fan of­ safina, but to be honest if she managed to go that far­ she will definitely win a grand slam soon or later. As­ she said she need to work on her mental now. Playing­ any sport now it's not omly being good at it but­ you need to stay mentally focused (I believe!) Good­ luck to Safina

    From eric, on Sun 7 Jun 12:12PM

  11. I mess those days of Serena and Venus williams vS ­ henin And clijstis . they were huge champs.
    i mess­ Davenport and Capriati.
    that`s when i grew up watching­ wta tour, it was really exciting . now lady tennis­ become really wicked.So i don`t watch it a lot.

    but i­ watch matches of the williams `cause they are the last­ players "playing real tennis" in wta­ tour

    Wtat tour without williams will be damped..

    From cuteboy19_2003, on Sun 7 Jun 11:37AM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    serena is always Right .you are a true nO1­ loooooooooooooooooooooooser.
    Just like Safine.

    From cuteboy19_2003, on Sun 7 Jun 11:32AM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Safina,you simply not good enough to win a gland­ slam.Svet has the game.some people are born with a­ talent and others just want to prove they have it,so­ try even harder next time but am afraid....

    From annsarpong, on Sun 7 Jun 10:45AM

  14. safina will never be a grand slam winner,she blew off­ so many chances and thats her last.

    From wen, on Sun 7 Jun 10:28AM

  15. Dinara had a meltdown, and she will have to learn from­ that to win one of the GS; once she does, she'll­ collect them like Lendl did IMO.

    Kuznetsova took her­ chances well, well done !

    From denniovis, on Sun 7 Jun 10:20AM

  16. We all appreciate Roger and his tennis achievements,­ but of course it is one thing have tears in your eyes­ (because of beloved coach Tim) and another afte you­ have been beaten fair and square by a better guy (on­ the day).
    In my humble opinion, Pete Sampras is the­ greatest , and this is why he may wantRoger to win. Let­ us hope Robin will open up the tennis world and make­ the GS final and trophies dream accessible to all the­ top players and not just the top 3

    From Vassilis, on Sun 7 Jun 10:15AM
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    SUNDAY ~~~~ Today SWEDEN will WIN ~~~~~ JUST like ­ ~~ NADAL repeated

    SWEDEN power agression will­ WIN

    Sad again for F E D E R E R ER EEE

    From pitcrew66, on Sun 7 Jun 10:07AM

  18. just as we predicted

    REPEAT of Aussie final with­ darling Dinara Safina ~~~ A BUNDLE of NERVES
    just­ like her brother sometimes

    will she ever control her­ delicate NERVES at the end of a Tournament ....?

    From pitcrew66, on Sun 7 Jun 10:05AM

  19. Rober youve been saying that since Round 1, and Roger­ has won every match since, don't you think you­ should stfu a bit?

    From peri, on Sun 7 Jun 10:00AM

  20. Robertxxx111 (comment 11) i have 4 things to tell­ you:
    1. Federer is no sore loser, he is just a very­ sensitive person.
    2. Even though I am Nadal's fan I­ still appreciate what Federer has done (he is a true­ sportsman and works with many charities to help other­ people)
    3. When you rise to Federer's level, then­ you can comment on him.
    4. What does this comment have­ to do with Safina losing?

    From georgiougeorge24, on Sun 7 Jun 9:30AM
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