Safina Wins Top 10 Debut at WTA Stuttgart
Posted on October 4, 2006STUTTGART, Germany -- One of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's brightest young stars walked on to the court as a Top 10 player for the first time, but the celebration very nearly came to a crashing halt. Playing crafty Italian Mara Santangelo in her opening round match at the Tier II Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Dinara Safina battled for over two hours and saved three match points to win in her first outing as one of the 10 best, 61 57 76(9).
Safina, the No.6 seed in Stuttgart, came out on fire in the first set, firing five aces, never even facing a break point and allowing her opponent to hold her own delivery just once. But Santangelo, who was instrumental in Italy's recent Fed Cup win, began sinking her teeth into it during the second set, her flat shots and slices clearly disrupting Safina's rhythm. They eventually found themselves in a deciding tie-break, where Safina saved two match points, blew two of her own, saved one more and then finally converted.
Having inched steadily up the rankings throughout the last few years, Safina has finally arrived among the game's greatest elite this week with her first Top 10 ranking. She was a Top 20 debutante last October and now, on the strength of a run to her first ever Tier I final (Rome) and a slew of quarterfinals (including her first two at majors, at Roland Garros and the US Open), the 20-year-old Russian finds herself ranked No.10 in the world (and one of five Russians in the Top 10).
Despite the loss, Santangelo showed why she is considered to be one of the most improved players on the Tour. Since a breakthrough week at Bangalore earlier this year, capturing her career-first title, she has also been steadily on the rise, notching her very first Top 20 victory recently (over Anastasia Myskina) and just a few weeks ago helping Italy to its first Fed Cup title. Having ranked just inside the Top 100 to start this season, the 25-year-old is currently sitting at No.32.
Five other players toughed out opening round victories Tuesday, including a pair of home crowd favorites, Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Martina Muller. Groenefeld was put to the test against teen-aged compatriot Tatjana Malek, but prevailed, 63 26 60, ending a four-match losing streak. Muller spent less time on the court but was forced to overcome an in-form Kveta Peschke; the German, who has shot up the rankings this year and has made debuts in the Top 50 and Top 40 recently, held off a late charge from Peschke to win, 60 76(4).
Also winning were fast-rising Israeli Shahar Peer, a 63 63 winner over Russian qualifier Ekaterina Bychkova; US Open quarterfinalist Tatiana Golovin, who rallied for a 46 60 63 victory over veteran compatriot Elena Likhovtseva; and Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik, a 61 64 winner over France's Nathalie Dechy.
Safina was the second seeded player to take the court so far this week, with No.5-seeded Patty Schnyder winning her opener on Monday. Four more seeds are featured in Wednesday's line-up, namely Svetlana Kuznetsova (No.2), Elena Dementieva (No.3), Francesca Schiavone (No.7) and Jelena Jankovic (No.8). Jankovic has arguably the toughest task, as she takes on Mary Pierce, the only former Porsche Grand Prix champion in this year's draw.
-- WTA
Safina, the No.6 seed in Stuttgart, came out on fire in the first set, firing five aces, never even facing a break point and allowing her opponent to hold her own delivery just once. But Santangelo, who was instrumental in Italy's recent Fed Cup win, began sinking her teeth into it during the second set, her flat shots and slices clearly disrupting Safina's rhythm. They eventually found themselves in a deciding tie-break, where Safina saved two match points, blew two of her own, saved one more and then finally converted.
Having inched steadily up the rankings throughout the last few years, Safina has finally arrived among the game's greatest elite this week with her first Top 10 ranking. She was a Top 20 debutante last October and now, on the strength of a run to her first ever Tier I final (Rome) and a slew of quarterfinals (including her first two at majors, at Roland Garros and the US Open), the 20-year-old Russian finds herself ranked No.10 in the world (and one of five Russians in the Top 10).
Despite the loss, Santangelo showed why she is considered to be one of the most improved players on the Tour. Since a breakthrough week at Bangalore earlier this year, capturing her career-first title, she has also been steadily on the rise, notching her very first Top 20 victory recently (over Anastasia Myskina) and just a few weeks ago helping Italy to its first Fed Cup title. Having ranked just inside the Top 100 to start this season, the 25-year-old is currently sitting at No.32.
Five other players toughed out opening round victories Tuesday, including a pair of home crowd favorites, Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Martina Muller. Groenefeld was put to the test against teen-aged compatriot Tatjana Malek, but prevailed, 63 26 60, ending a four-match losing streak. Muller spent less time on the court but was forced to overcome an in-form Kveta Peschke; the German, who has shot up the rankings this year and has made debuts in the Top 50 and Top 40 recently, held off a late charge from Peschke to win, 60 76(4).
Also winning were fast-rising Israeli Shahar Peer, a 63 63 winner over Russian qualifier Ekaterina Bychkova; US Open quarterfinalist Tatiana Golovin, who rallied for a 46 60 63 victory over veteran compatriot Elena Likhovtseva; and Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik, a 61 64 winner over France's Nathalie Dechy.
Safina was the second seeded player to take the court so far this week, with No.5-seeded Patty Schnyder winning her opener on Monday. Four more seeds are featured in Wednesday's line-up, namely Svetlana Kuznetsova (No.2), Elena Dementieva (No.3), Francesca Schiavone (No.7) and Jelena Jankovic (No.8). Jankovic has arguably the toughest task, as she takes on Mary Pierce, the only former Porsche Grand Prix champion in this year's draw.
-- WTA