Dinara Safina, who upset herself with the poverty of her performance in the Australian Open final last month, followed it with one which she considered even more threadbare yesterday.
Dinara Safina, who upset herself with the poverty of her performance in the Australian Open final last month, followed it with one which she considered even more threadbare yesterday.u00a0
The World No 2 from Russia lost 4-6, 2-6 in her opening match of the Dubai Open to Virginie Razzano, a French player ranked 56 places lower and who almost failed to qualify directly for the tournament.
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"This was worse than the Melbourne final," Safina agreed.
"When it's not your day you can't pick one thing which is wrong. You can't put any pressure on any shotu00a0it's just one of those days."
No effect
Might it damage her confidence, she was asked.
"It has nothing to do with that I won six and four in Australia," she retorted, referring to six wins in Melbourne and four wins in Sydney. "One match cannot bring me down."
Serena Williams too made a shaky start and a storming finish to her first match since pulling out of last week's Paris Open semi-finals with a knee problem.
The top-seeded World No 1 won 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 against Sara Errani, the World No 32 from Italy, and pronounced the injury "okay."
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