Safina barely avoids a top-seeded collapseThe first round is supposed be a relatively easy affair for the top seeds in a Grand Slam event. This U.S. Open has held true to that form with one glaring exception. We’re not talking about Venus – yes, she struggled, but she was dealing with knee issues. No, we’re talking about the top seed, Dinara Safina.
Her performance was dismal. I’m still in shock that you can play such sloppy tennis and win at the professional level. The UNFORCED ERRORS, double faults and all around bad play made this one tough to stomach. She needs to the right the ship or that top ranking will become a thing of the past.
On the topic of Safina being number one – there are many people who believe that she does not deserve the number one ranking. I disagree. There may be better players out there (like the Williams sisters) but Safina’s ranking is based on her performance this year. Although she has yet to win a major, she’s won 3 tournaments this year and done no worse than reaching the finals of two slams and the semis at Wimbledon. She’s won a tour best 52 matches this year, so the numbers speak for themselves. The other tournaments count too – otherwise, why play them?
11th seeded Ana Ivanovic got her first round walking papers on Day 2 from Kateryna Bondarenko – Ana faltered in a 3rd set tiebreaker and is playing with very little confidence right now.
On the good news front – Maria Sharapova looked dominating in her first round match and could become the story of the tournament. Look for her to be around next week.
Other seeds ran into little resistance booking their 2nd round invitations including the 4th seed, Elena Dementieva and the 6th seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The top seeds on the men's side avoided any significant drama on Day 2 with Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray all advancing in straight sets.
Murray faced a rather stiff challenge against the Latvian giant, Ernests Gulbis, but came through with top marks, 7-5, 6-3, 7-5.
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