Safina: Isn't as bad as we make it out to be.

egn

egn

Hall of Fame
I am going to be the first to say Safina is a very good player and can become a great player..all she needs is some nerves. Safina is reminding me right now of a young Ivan Lendl..just female. Ivan when he came up started to climb and if anyone recalls it was around 22-24 that he soar to the top of the rankings. He came up short in the slams, but was winning tons of top events outside of them. He actually grabbed the number one ranking as well without every winning a slam. Over a year prior to getting one actually and would hold it for considerable time before winning a single French Open in 84. Lendl did not hit his stride in reality to 86..now of course I am not saying Safina is destined for greatness...but lets be real she does know how to play tennis and she is very good. She dominated at the French Open until her collapse and was playing damn good at the Australian Open as well. I think..hope..Safina scores a couple of slams she just needs to stop acting so much like her brother.
 
Lionheart392

Lionheart392

Professional
I agree, give the girl a break. I remember last year when Jankovic was #1, loads of posters were saying that she was a fraud #1 and Safina would be far more worthy of the top spot. Now she has it and everyone's turned on her. :(
 
egn

egn

Hall of Fame
Lionheart392 said:
I agree, give the girl a break. I remember last year when Jankovic was #1, loads of posters were saying that she was a fraud #1 and Safina would be far more worthy of the top spot. Now she has it and everyone's turned on her. :(
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She is a lot better than Jankovic, 4 tier 1s and has been to at least the semis in her last 4 slams. Not to mention she might be the first women in a while to actually make it to the semis of all 4 slams in a year. If Safina wins the US Open the whole opinion of her will suddenly flop in the other direction.
 
egn

egn

Hall of Fame
Gaudio2004 said:
Safina: 0 Grand Slams.
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She consistently finishes deep in events compared to the other players who play a strong event than have weak events. SO she gets there due to consistency. Yes she has zero but I don't think she is nearly as bad as everyone says she is and I think she may find herself with one soon.
 
Grass_for_cows

Grass_for_cows

Semi-Pro
egn said:
I am going to be the first to say Safina is a very good player and can become a great player..all she needs is some nerves. Safina is reminding me right now of a young Ivan Lendl..just female.
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She's been a pro forever. She has 12 titles or something like that. Lendl had around 40 singles titles when he won the French, and he is a total bad-ass. Safina isn't as bad as some say she is, but she's not that good either.
 
grafselesfan

grafselesfan

Banned
Sorry but what is so great about her. All she does is pound the ball as hard as she can, but only her groundstrokes are even somewhat reliable. She is a one dimensional power player who doesnt even have a strong reliable serve, not a good combination. She moves mediocre, she cant volley, she has no variety really, no feel for the ball, she absolutely has no clue how to construct points. No feel or finesse, no variety, and no all court skills, you can get away with in todays field. Still some good mobility, ability to defend, a strong and reliable serve, and some semblance of how to constrcut a point are important assets to win big titles for a one dimensional power hitter, even in todays weak field. And of course she is mentally so is so extremely weak.

I do agree though that in the current womens field she could win atleast a slam or two (probably the French) if she could just keep her nerves despite her limitations. However there is no sign of that aspect improving. Each big final she gets in she plays worse or worse. She really should have won the French this year in the form she was in and totally blew it in a way I didnt expect even from her.
 
Andy G

Andy G

Semi-Pro
Gaudio2004 said:
Safina: 0 Grand Slams.
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Who cares that she has no slams. You would be one of the first to say how great Lendl is yet he became world #1 in Feb 1983, but didn't win his first major until the '84 FO. That's over one year, 4 slams, before he won his first. Safina has only been #1 for 17 weeks, if you think you can do better, go get your tour card. Also, Marcelos Rios was #1 and never won a major.

http://wikirank.com/en/List_of_ATP_number_1_ranked_players?month=200906
 
Grass_for_cows

Grass_for_cows

Semi-Pro
Lendl won 40 titles in his first five years. And he is very good at tennis. Comparing Safina to Lendl makes mothers hate their babies.
 
Andy G

Andy G

Semi-Pro
Grass_for_cows said:
Lendl won 40 titles in his first five years. And he is very good at tennis. Comparing Safina to Lendl makes mothers hate their babies.
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Are you semi ********, who would make a comment like this. I'm not comparing the two. Just making the point that someone who is ranked #1 doesn't have to automatically start winning majors. Being #1 just means that the person is consistently good enough to get far enough into tournys to earn points and defend them. Not that they are winning all those events. She'll eventually win a major. She'll never be on anyone's greatest list, either though.
 
Cantankersore

Cantankersore

Semi-Pro
grafselesfan said:
Sorry but what is so great about her. All she does is pound the ball as hard as she can, but only her groundstrokes are even somewhat reliable. She is a one dimensional power player who doesnt even have a strong reliable serve, not a good combination. She moves mediocre, she cant volley, she has no variety really, no feel for the ball, she absolutely has no clue how to construct points. No feel or finesse, no variety, and no all court skills, you can get away with in todays field. Still some good mobility, ability to defend, a strong and reliable serve, and some semblance of how to constrcut a point are important assets to win big titles for a one dimensional power hitter, even in todays weak field. And of course she is mentally so is so extremely weak.
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You should cut down on the hyperbole. Oh, among the best female players in the world she isn't quite as good at some of these things that some of them specialize in? But she makes up for it by not being as bad at some of them than some of them? Then doesn't that still make her one of the best in the world?
 
grafselesfan

grafselesfan

Banned
Cantankersore said:
You should cut down on the hyperbole. Oh, among the best female players in the world she isn't quite as good at some of these things that some of them specialize in? But she makes up for it by not being as bad at some of them than some of them? Then doesn't that still make her one of the best in the world?
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She is one of the best in the World today. What does that say about the state of womens tennis today though?
 
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