Saturday, June 6, 2009

Meltdown

Oh, Dinara.
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I think it was sort of the story of the match the way that Dinara lost - on a double fault. For the third Slam final in a row, she just didn't turn up to play. I feel so sorry for her, but... oh, honestly, Dinara. Dinara, Dinara, Dinara.
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You know what she needs to do? Play a few of the lesser tournaments around where on-court coaching is around and about without using it. When she comes to the Slams, she has to play sans Zeljko, who helps her so much outside these tournaments. She needs to stop relying on him. She needs to let go. I'm not suggesting she fire him as her coach or anything, because they're an excellent partnership, but she needs to stop relying on him so much. She was looking up at him so much during the match. And there was nothing he could do. This one was all on Dinara. This meltdown belonged to her alone.
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Actually, I'll tell you what Zeljko can do - work on Dinara's goddamn serve. That ball toss is just cumbersome, and it's doing her no favours at all. But where was Dinara's determination? It wasn't there today. Poor girl. This must hurt.
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But the day belongs to the victor, and Svetlana Kuznetsova played a wonderful match. I was pulling for Dinara, but I cannot pretend to be sad Sveta won. She's a great player and a great champion and she deserved this to no end. You've sort of had the sense that another major was coming for Sveta ever since that maiden Slam in '04 at the US Open - she's too good to be a one Slam wonder. And she just played wonderfully today. She has an all court game which is lovely to watch, and she kept her head together marvellously today.
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Well done, Svetlana. You deserve this one.
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And Dinara? Wimbledon, sister. I know you can do it. Let's make it happen.
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Today's Results
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French Open (Roland Garros)
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Women's Draw
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Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Dinara Safina, 6-4 6-2

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