Why is Safina considered the worst No.1?

[DavenLove94]

Granted, she doesn't have a slam but she has more weeks at no.1 than Clijsters, Sharapova, Jankovic, Goolagong and a few others. She got to 3 slam finals which is more than Ivanovic, Jankovic, or Wozniacki so why does she get so much hate?

 

[Phoenix1983]

I consider Jankovic the worst No 1.

But Safina gets mentioned because she, like Jankovic and Wozniacki on the women's side, and Rios on the men's side, never won a major title.

 

[DavenLove94]

I consider Jankovic the worst No 1.

But Safina gets mentioned because she, like Jankovic and Wozniacki on the women's side, and Rios on the men's side, never won a major title.

I see. Yeah my candidate for worst no.1 is Jankovic. I mean Safina did kinda overachieve considering her short peak.

 

[BHud]

Massive choker! Had the game but couldn't perform well in the biggest moments.

 

[Anaconda]

I consider Jankovic the worst No 1.

But Safina gets mentioned because she, like Jankovic and Wozniacki on the women's side, and Rios on the men's side, never won a major title.

I don't know what forum you've been reading, but on the GPPD, Rios actually enjoys almost god-like status, and earns a lot more respect than many slam winners (some even multiple), all for being talented (although he's not even a top tier talent).

 

[hoodjem]

Simply put: "Slam Bias."

(Anyone who makes it to no. 1 without winning even a single slam is considered a phony, a joke. Anyone who wins slams without making it to no. 1 is considered to have been the victim of a bad ranking system or robbed, e.g. Vilas. Just as the highest total of slams indicates the GOAT. )

 

[pc1]

Simply put: "Slam Bias."

(Anyone who makes it to no. 1 without winning even a single slam is considered a phony, a joke. Anyone who wins slams without making it to no. 1 is considered to have been the victim of a bad ranking system or robbed, e.g. Vilas. Just as the highest total of slams indicates the GOAT. )

A good example is Rod Laver in 1970 who was probably the strongest player in the world but didn't win a major although the Dunlop was really the Australian which he won over Rosewall.

 

[hoodjem]

I don't know what forum you've been reading, but on the GPPD, Rios actually enjoys almost god-like status, and earns a lot more respect than many slam winners (some even multiple), all for being talented (although he's not even a top tier talent).

Yes, but the GPPD is full of ranters.

(It says more about the GPPD, and less about Rios.)

 

[osutennis24]

Granted, she doesn't have a slam but she has more weeks at no.1 than Clijsters, Sharapova, Jankovic, Goolagong and a few others. She got to 3 slam finals which is more than Ivanovic, Jankovic, or Wozniacki so why does she get so much hate?

Ivanovic won a slam though

 

[NLBwell]

Because people just like criticizing her. She did have massive emotional problems in the French Open final, so that makes her an easy target.

 

[Mainad]

I always thought it was Wozniacki who took the most flak. At least that is my impression on this forum. She, together with Safina and Jankovic are the only women #1 players who never won a Slam. However she was #1 for a lot longer (67 weeks) than either Safina (26 weeks) or Jankovic (18 weeks).

Safina did better at the Slams than the other 2. She reached 3 Slam finals (2 FO and 1 AO) whereas Jankovic and Wozniacki only ever reached 1 (both at the USO).

Who is saying she is the worst?

 

[DavenLove94]

Ivanovic won a slam though

Thats my point, yes Ivanovic has won a slam, yet she doesn't have many weeks at no.1 and she definitely wasn't winning titles left and right as a no.1 player or shortly after losing that ranking. Safina at least won titles throughout her run at the top.

 

[Rosewall]

IMO, Safina is loathed because of the way she would look at coach Željko Krajan and start balling during a match. Her back injury gave her the excuse she needed to get out of the pressure cooker. The tragedy is that her brother never had Darina's work ethic.

Ivanovic gets a pass because she has a slam, she has great ground strokes, and she is hot.

 

[Baxter]

Because people just like criticizing her. She did have massive emotional problems in the French Open final, so that makes her an easy target.

I think that's it. That was a particularly memorable meltdown. And yes, Ivanovic's hotness trumps all.

 

[DavenLove94]

IMO, Safina is loathed because of the way she would look at coach Željko Krajan and start balling during a match. Her back injury gave her the excuse she needed to get out of the pressure cooker. The tragedy is that her brother never had Darina's work ethic.

Ivanovic gets a pass because she has a slam, she has great ground strokes, and she is hot.

So basically if someone wins a slam to get to number one, they're automatically a way better no.1 than a player who doesn't? For some reason I feel like this bias wasn't there back in the early slamless Clijsters days...

 

[NLBwell]

Yes, in the last few years the value of the slams in many peoples' minds has increased far above what it historically has been.
Of course things like this do change. The tour is much more based around the slams that it was previously (and now there is only one tour each for men and women, which wasn't always the case). Davis Cup isn't nearly as important as it used to be, also.

 

[Warmaster]

So basically if someone wins a slam to get to number one, they're automatically a way better no.1 than a player who doesn't? For some reason I feel like this bias wasn't there back in the early slamless Clijsters days...

Clijsters was criticized for this, but not as much as people realised she was a very good player regardless.

You can't compare Clijsters with Safina, Jankovic even before her comeback.

 

[Mainad]

I always felt that Dinara, for all her undoubted talent and ability on court, never really enjoyed playing tennis. She always made the strangest, asthmatic-sounding grunting noises when hitting the ball and always looked nervous and anxious to get the match over with as quickly as possible. She could barely raise a smile even when she won.

It's my impression that she was probably pressured into playing by her family in order to try and follow in big brother Marin's footsteps. It was never really her choice. Despite all the pressure and ultimate failure to match Marin's achievements, she did remarkably well all the same, gaining the #1 ranking like he did and making 3 Slam finals even if she could never manage to get over the finishing line in any of them.

The vast majority of WTA players have had far worse careers than her's but I'm guessing she was mightily relieved when her back problems finally gave her an excuse to hang her racquet up. She is probably a much happier person nowadays doing the kind of things she always REALLY wanted to do!

 

[Rosewall]

Thats my point, yes Ivanovic has won a slam, yet she doesn't have many weeks at no.1 and she definitely wasn't winning titles left and right as a no.1 player or shortly after losing that ranking. Safina at least won titles throughout her run at the top.

Ivanovic has 13 WTA titles to Safina's 12. And a slam. And is still in the world's top 20. Where is Darina? As for Jankovic, Ivanovic owned her, so she is definitely in the WENO conversation. And again, it can't be overemphasized enough, Ivanovic is hot.

What all these women share is a lot of talent, great work ethic, and obvious confidence issues. So obvious that a casual tennis fan can recognize immediately when one of them started to melt down. Like Pam Shriver said (wish I had her exact quote but have to paraphrase) on air, "worst era in the history of womens' tennis."

 

[DavenLove94]

Clijsters was criticized for this, but not as much as people realised she was a very good player regardless.

You can't compare Clijsters with Safina, Jankovic even before her comeback.

What's the difference between young Clijsters and Safina? One more slam final? They both sucked mentally and couldn't play their usual games in big matches.

 

[bluetrain4]

Granted, she doesn't have a slam but she has more weeks at no.1 than Clijsters, Sharapova, Jankovic, Goolagong and a few others. She got to 3 slam finals which is more than Ivanovic, Jankovic, or Wozniacki so why does she get so much hate?

IMO, she once received a lot of hate for being a slamless No. 1. But, she's really not in tennis fans' general frame of mind anymore, so it's really not an ongoing thing. This thread made me realize how long it's been since we had any substantive discussion about Safina.

As to why she was considered by some to be the "worst No.1," It was based less on that fact that she didn't actually win one (like Woz or Jankovic), but how she repeatedly had meltdowns in Slam finals after playing high level tennis to get there.

In a way, it's a backhanded compliment -- we expected more from her, so it was more disappointing that she never won. Safina had big weapons, unlike Jankovic and Woz, and I think we forget how incredible she could play and blow people off the court. Sort of like Davenport.

I think when people say "worst No. 1" many people actually mean "most disappointing No. 1." As pointed out, based on the stats (weeks at No. 1, number of Slam finals), she's hardly the worst.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

What's the difference between young Clijsters and Safina? One more slam final? They both sucked mentally and couldn't play their usual games in big matches.

Clijsters put up a great fight against Capriati in RG and the match could've gone either way. Granted she didn't play well in some of those early finals but she was facing Henin during the best stretch of her career. Anyway, she wasn't the favorite against either of them. I think there's a considerable difference between that and losing to a very young - and future mental midget - Ivanovic. Her loss to Serena wasn't much of a surprise either but the way she lost against Kuznetsova in the 2009 RG final was proof enough that to win a Slam someone would have to give it to her.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

I think when people say "worst No. 1" many people actually mean "most disappointing No. 1." As pointed out, based on the stats (weeks at No. 1, number of Slam finals), she's hardly the worst.

Very good point. She was more of a disappointment for people who wished her well. Wozniacki, on the other hand... not many people care if her tedious brand of tennis ends up giving her a major title.

 

[DavenLove94]

IMO, she once received a lot of hate for being a slamless No. 1. But, she's really not in tennis fans' general frame of mind anymore, so it's really not an ongoing thing. This thread made me realize how long it's been since we had any substantive discussion about Safina.

As to why she was considered by some to be the "worst No.1," It was based less on that fact that she didn't actually win one (like Woz or Jankovic), but how she repeatedly had meltdowns in Slam finals after playing high level tennis to get there.

In a way, it's a backhanded compliment -- we expected more from her, so it was more disappointing that she never won. Safina had big weapons, unlike Jankovic and Woz, and I think we forget how incredible she could play and blow people off the court. Sort of like Davenport.

I think when people say "worst No. 1" many people actually mean "most disappointing No. 1." As pointed out, based on the stats (weeks at No. 1, number of Slam finals), she's hardly the worst.

I see. I think you're right on the whole"most disappointing as opposed to "the worst" no.1. My biggest thing was the fact that she spent a cool amount of time at number one during her reign. I think she should get more credit for her 26 weeks as no.1 because she really wasn't in the top ten for very long. She actually had a nice little run doing her "peak" when she was no.1

 

[amazingrace]

Ivanovic actually won a slam, and was in more slam finals and big matches. Wozniacki has been a solid top 10 player for 7 years in a row now and has over 20 career titles. Jankovic was a factor near the top of the game for a lot longer than Safina too, and has more success against the top players.

Why would anyone but Safina be considered the worst?

 

[amazingrace]

Granted, she doesn't have a slam but she has more weeks at no.1 than Clijsters, Sharapova, Jankovic, Goolagong and a few others.

Safina having more weeks at #1 than Clijsters or Sharapova is only an example of the crap ranking system. Players that won numerous slams, and like Safina (briefly) play regularly and win consistently on the regularly tour too, and did so for many more years, yet less time at #1. Pretty much shows why nobody takes rankings seriously anymore.

In any case you cant seriously suggest anyone should even think for a moment about considering many time slam winners like Clijsters, Pova, and Goolagong worse than Safina. So you have to focus on the other slamless #1s and of those Wozniacki was ranked #1 a lot longer, if that is important to you, while Jankovic ended at year at #1 unlike Safina which gives her the edge there. So even there she comes up last compared to the only ones you could even remotedly consider her maybe being better than- Ivanovic, Jankovic, Wozniacki.

 

[amazingrace]

What's the difference between young Clijsters and Safina? One more slam final? They both sucked mentally and couldn't play their usual games in big matches.

I believe if you look at Clijsters's stats for the year 2003 vs Safina in either of her 2 best years (2008 or 2009) you would see a large difference. A lot more tournament titles, a lot more tier 1 titles, making semis or finals of every slam and only losing to legends of the game/all time greats (Serena, Venus, Henin twice), much more consistently good overall tour results with many fewer early losses and bad showings, and the 2002 YEC as part of her 12 month base ranking points while ranked #1. In a much tougher time for the womens game too. No comparision.

 

[jean pierre]

Being number one without winning a Grand Slam is a joke. Safina and Rios were not really number one.

 

[roaringsounds]

Since she is. OP answer if Safina isn't he worst who is? Those who say Wozniacki go by playing style in lieu of achievments. The only stat Safina beats Wozniacki in is 1 more slam final (which will probably change before the end of Woz's career whether she wins a slam or not). Which doesn't compensate for all the others Wozniacki blows her away in.

Ivanovic as a slam winner who also made 3 slam finals, and is generally a more impressive player at her best, and has had a longer and better overall career, so is not a consideration either.

Jankovic is the only one you could argue. Safina has 3 slam finals to Jankovic's 1, so maybe you could say Jelena, but she is the only one you could argue as worse than Safina. Suggesting anyone else is comical.