The "What's Wrong With Her?" Thread

[lonux]

I just saw Radwanska's racquet got blown away! LOL!

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by Spin Doctor

Did anyone catch Brad Gilbert interviewing Wozniacki? This girl does not appear to have two brain cells to rub together. She said she doesn't even look at the draw nor does she think changing rackets will impact her game. WTF? There was also some other dunderhead thing she said that I can't recall right now. Even Brad seemed incredulous.

No wonder she's so happy all the time. Its easy to be happy when you don't bother having any deep thoughts about anything. She just seems totally empty-headed. Not looking forward to her being #1 for any period of time if it means having to hear these kinds of interviews.

Have you been #1 in anything?

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

Originally Posted by sureshs

Have you been #1 in anything?

That's not addressing the statement.

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

Originally Posted by courtking

what's wrong with Safina?? she's painfully to watch.. If I were her, I would retire for a few years then come back.. can't believe she was a former world #1 in 2009

Safina was a fraud as a #1 and continues to prove she was never part of the elite class of the sport. Considering her rapid dowslide over 2010, and now the incredibly poor start to this year's majors, she should retire now. No one on earth would think she will eventually win a major.

[8F93W5]

Originally Posted by THUNDERVOLLEY

Safina was a fraud as a #1 and continues to prove she was never part of the elite class of the sport. Considering her rapid dowslide over 2010, and now the incredibly poor start to this year's majors, she should retire now. No one on earth would think she will eventually win a major.

Her problem is mental and is fixable. I think Marat could help her.

I say she should not retire as long as she gets direct entry in tournaments. Got to earn & save that money while she's young.

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by THUNDERVOLLEY

That's not addressing the statement.

No, it is not. It is only pointing out how ridiculous people can look when they are their only aim is to find fault in others.

[FuriousYellow]

Originally Posted by Underhand

Safina and Ivanović should retire ASAP. There are too much dumb mental midget ball bashers in the Women's Drama Association already.

Even if they did, there would be more two more to step in and take their place.

[Wolland]

Originally Posted by THUNDERVOLLEY

Safina was a fraud as a #1 and continues to prove she was never part of the elite class of the sport. Considering her rapid dowslide over 2010, and now the incredibly poor start to this year's majors, she should retire now. No one on earth would think she will eventually win a major.

I wouldn't go that far. She reached that top spot fair and square. She had some nice wins, and also won a couple of very important tournaments. If I'm not mistaken, she played in three grand slam finals. However, when she got to that no. 1 spot, she succumbed to pressure. She just couldn't handle the expectations, plus the injuries, and Safina got where she is today.

[Wolland]

Originally Posted by 8F93W5

Her problem is mental and is fixable. I think Marat could help her.

I say she should not retire as long as she gets direct entry in tournaments. Got to earn & save that money while she's young.

For me, Marat would be the last person whom I would ask advice as to how to improve the mental aspect of the game

[Underhand]

Originally Posted by FuriousYellow

Even if they did, there would be more two more to step in and take their place.

I'm afraid you're right. Current junior girls are just the same ball bashers. Tennis parents and coaches just want results fast with big babe "tennis".

[Underhand]

Originally Posted by Wolland

For me, Marat would be the last person whom I would ask advice as to how to improve the mental aspect of the game

Maybe it can be useful if you do exactly the opposite of what he recommends?

[boredone3456]

Originally Posted by THUNDERVOLLEY

Safina was a fraud as a #1 and continues to prove she was never part of the elite class of the sport. Considering her rapid dowslide over 2010, and now the incredibly poor start to this year's majors, she should retire now. No one on earth would think she will eventually win a major.

For a while she did play like the number 1 player in the world, she won 2 Tournaments and made another 2 finals right after becoming the number 1 player. She may not have won a slam but in the immediate weeks after she at least was playing like a top player unlike the person everyone said was rightfully number 1 who was struggling to get past people ranked below number 50 in some tournaments. Serena could have kept her from it had she played slightly better between the Australian and the French Open, its not Safina's fault She had a good clay season while Serena well....umm...didn't. Its also not her fault that Serena didn't play much after the Australian whether she was hurt or not and its not her Fault Serena couldn't get it back right away. Serena wasn't proving herself to be better then Safina at the time, so Safina derserved it

As for her performance at the Australian....Well ok I didn't see the match. But she drew Kim Cljsters...arguably the worst possible 1st round match anyone in the tournament could have gotten. She got double dageled, so she can't have played well, but seriously, Kim in the hottest player on the tour right now and I don't expect anyone wants to play her. Safina got slapped in the face by some bad luck. Had she drawn someone else or been placed somewhere else who knows what might have happened. Why should she retire for losing to the number 3 player in the world and odds on favorite to win the whole tournament?

[soyizgood]

Safina was not a fraud.

In 2008, she had a stretch of 9 events where she made the SF or better in 7 of them. Won 3 Tier-1s, slam F, USO SF, Olympic silver, tied Serena for most titles that year with 4.

In 2009, 2 slam finals, 2 more Tier-1s, 8 events she made the finals, Wimbledon SF, Cincy final. Yes the end of 2009 was a disaster, but that's when her back started acting up. Knee pain during clay season but made the FO finals and Wimby SF despite that.

2010 was a mess from the get go after the 4th round AO retirement. It's a slippery slope when having both knee and back problems. Add to that the mental hiccups and pressure of living up to expectations and you got a recipe for disaster.

I don't know what to say. She's fitter than before and her service motion looks more fluid. But she's become more of a pusher the past two years and a sloppy one at that.

Here are my view on Safina:

She probably needs to reassess her goals at this point. First she needs to accept she was a fluke #1, the least talented player to ever reach such a lofty achievement, and one who grossly overachieved to be in that position and have multiple chances to win slams. She needs to get over the fact she squandered those opportunities (to win slams) that someone of her marginal talent both technically and in mental strength should have never had in the first place, and that barring a miracle they will never come again. And if she is able to accept these realisms she can then get back to work to trying to become a top 20 player again who has an outside shot of breaking into the top 10 for small periods and who can be a threat to make reasonable slam showings and maybe win non slam tournaments again, which is a more realistic place for someone of her skill as far as maximizing their potential. If she continues to think of herself as someone who should be #1 or getting to slam finals again then she will continue to implode and should retire.

She also needs to accept that right now she no longer has a top 100 game or mentality and start from scratch by playing Challengers and rebuilding her confidence and game by trying to scratch out wins and maybe even Satellite level tournament titles against players who are now of her current level. And work from there with the ultimate goal of being a top 20 player again.

[jerriy]

Originally Posted by 8F93W5

Her problem is mental and is fixable. I think Marat could help her.

Bwahahahaha!!!

You canNOT be serious!

Originally Posted by Wolland

I wouldn't go that far. She reached that top spot fair and square. She had some nice wins, and also won a couple of very important tournaments. If I'm not mistaken, she played in three grand slam finals. However, when she got to that no. 1 spot, she succumbed to pressure. She just couldn't handle the expectations, plus the injuries, and Safina got where she is today.

She had some nice draws to make those finals. At the 2009 Australian the real final was the Dementieva-Serena semifinal in the other half, but Safina lucked into a soft draw on the other side and came through to be massacred by Serena. Dementieva, Kuznetsova, and even Azarenka probably all would have beaten her there. At the 2008 French again the real final was the Jankovic-Ivanovic semi, Safina was only in the final since those two were in the same half. The strange retirements of Henin and Clijsters also threw the WTA up in disarray for awhile, in conjuction with the Williams sisters age and injuries, the decline of the other Russians, and the meltdowns of the also overachieving Serbs after reaching #1. Safina did not really overtake any established elites, she more or less tiptoed around alot of dead roadkill that started to clutter up the road up the WTA mess that developed of a year or two.

She reached the #1 spot by complete accident. I dont think even she imagined or dreamed of ever getting there. Henin and Clijsters retired, Serena only plays for the big 6 tournaments these days, and Sharapova became Shoulderpova. Kuznetsova, Ivanovic, Jankovic, Mauresmo, also went through slumps and other issues, and voila a run of the mill top 20 player like Safina is suddenly at #1. Yet even while she was #1 nobody thought of her as the best player in the World or gave her a hope when she played a big name in a big match. The only slam anyone ever expected her to win was the 2009 French and yet she still self destructed in the final vs a marginal champion (Kuznetsova) in epic fashion.

Originally Posted by boredone3456

For a while she did play like the number 1 player in the world, she won 2 Tournaments and made another 2 finals right after becoming the number 1 player.

Sorry someone who gets humiliated in all their slam finals and their slam semi losses, is not playing like a #1 player in the World. Yeah she was consistent for awhile but she was also consistently never good enough against the real best players. What kind of true #1 loses an Australian final 6-0, 6-3, as the heavy favorite get rocked by a then 1 time slam winner in the French Open final, then loses a Wimbledon semi 6-1, 6-0. Then goes on to lose to people outside the top 100 the remainder of the tour.

Its also not her fault that Serena didn't play much after the Australian whether she was hurt or not and its not her Fault Serena couldn't get it back right away. Serena wasn't proving herself to be better then Safina at the time, so Safina derserved it

The Australian Open final of 2009 and U.S Open semis of 2008 conclusively proved Serena was far and away better than Safina at the time. Safina outperforming Serena in a series of minor clay court events certainly does not change that. The only way Safina could have made any temporary debate about that would be to win the French as she was expected to do, instead she plays abysmally in the final and gets thrashed by Kuznetsova, who Serena even on her worst surface came alot closer to beating than Safina. Wimbledon 2009 put the final stamp on any comparision. Serena >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Safina even during Safina's best one year stretch that got her to #1.

As for her performance at the Australian....Well ok I didn't see the match. But she drew Kim Cljsters...arguably the worst possible 1st round match anyone in the tournament could have gotten. She got double dageled, so she can't have played well, but seriously, Kim in the hottest player on the tour right now and I don't expect anyone wants to play her. Safina got slapped in the face by some bad luck. Had she drawn someone else or been placed somewhere else who knows what might have happened. Why should she retire for losing to the number 3 player in the world and odds on favorite to win the whole tournament?

Dont kid yourself. Marion Bartoli beat her 6-1, 6-0 last week. 39 year old Kimiko Date made Safina her b-tch last year. Out of the 128 players in the draw there are maybe 17 she would have beaten right now, if that. Anyone can beat Safina now, nobody is afraid of her.

[vandre]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

She had some nice draws to make those finals. At the 2009 Australian the real final was the Dementieva-Serena semifinal in the other half, but Safina lucked into a soft draw on the other side and came through to be massacred by Serena. Dementieva, Kuznetsova, and even Azarenka probably all would have beaten her there. At the 2008 French again the real final was the Jankovic-Ivanovic semi, Safina was only in the final since those two were in the same half. The strange retirements of Henin and Clijsters also threw the WTA up in disarray for awhile, in conjuction with the Williams sisters age and injuries, the decline of the other Russians, and the meltdowns of the also overachieving Serbs after reaching #1. Safina did not really overtake any established elites, she more or less tiptoed around alot of dead roadkill that started to clutter up the road up the WTA mess that developed of a year or two.

She reached the #1 spot by complete accident. I dont think even she imagined or dreamed of ever getting there. Henin and Clijsters retired, Serena only plays for the big 6 tournaments these days, and Sharapova became Shoulderpova. Kuznetsova, Ivanovic, Jankovic, Mauresmo, also went through slumps and other issues, and voila a run of the mill top 20 player like Safina is suddenly at #1. Yet even while she was #1 nobody thought of her as the best player in the World or gave her a hope when she played a big name in a big match. The only slam anyone ever expected her to win was the 2009 French and yet she still self destructed in the final vs a marginal champion (Kuznetsova) in epic fashion.

dude, if you're trying to be the "ultimate serena apologist", you're gonna need to change your nym to "nadalserenaagassi" or something.

[Mick]

man. before the match had started i thought maybe safina could stage a big upset (like petrova had done last year)

[soyizgood]

Safina's rank will drop to #114 or somewhere in that range.

Oudin ate 2 breadsticks in her loss to Zakopalova. Melanie's USO QF looking more like a fluke. Last year she lost in the 1st round 12 times.