Dark Horse Dinara

So... yeah... um... I don't have a lot to talk about today. It's too late for Cincy discussions, too early for US Open breakdowns, and there's not that much happening on the women's side. (Except for CazWoz being the #1 seed. What's up with that?)

Oh, I know! Here's one I heard today - Dinara Safina, dark horse for the US Open.

Now hang on just a minute. Much as I would like this to be true - no matter how wonky she plays, I just can't quit the Dinara bandwagon - calling her a dark horse for the US Open is just ridiculous. Two years ago, maybe, this would have been an excellent call. Right now...? Not so much.

That's not too say that the women's draw isn't ridiculously open, because it is. I mean, hello, Wozniacki is the top seed. Caroline Couldn't-Hit-A-Winner-If-She-Tried Wozniacki. This really is anyone's game. But suggesting that that anyone might be Safina is so far out of left field it's almost on another planet.

Fact: Dinara has been playing better of late. Fact: playing without the pressure of expectation will probably do her the world of good. Fact: she doesn't have to listen to Zeljko shouting at her any more. And if Dinara can show me some good results towards the end of the year then we might start talking about SERIOUSLY dark horse standing for the Australian Open. But right now? I'd be calling her a dark horse for the third round. A semi-dangerous floater. And not much more.

But then, of course, Kim Clijsters won the US Open last year in only her third tournament back, so what do I know?