Kuznetsova Wins French
Consistent with my batting average for this tournament, I picked Dinara Safina to win her first grand slam title today. But she lost, to the talented and mentally fragile Sveta Kuznetsova.
I know what you’re thinking – “The Talented and Mentally Fragile” could be the title of a soap opera about the WTA. Kind of like The Young and the Restless except instead of people coming back from the dead, this one would feature players retiring and un-retiring.
But the point I’m making here is not my usual one. Because of all the mentally fragile talents on the WTA tour, Koozy is by far the most talented. She probably has more ability than everyone not named Williams. She proved this by winning the US Open in 2004, convincing Martina Navratilova that she could win many grand slam titles. Indeed, most people concluded that the sky was the limit for this young woman, who would certainly end up #1.
What do we see when we laud Koozy for her talent? Someone with touch and power, who has the ability to maneuver at the net in addition to playing the power baseline game that is the only style of play on the women’s side these days. That makes her stand out from her peers.
Since her US Open title, Koozy has been inconsistent. Aggravating. Downright beguiling. She went on to lose two more major finals, at the US Open and the French. Although her play at the 09 French was good during the first week, Navratilova said “I’ve picked her so many times and she hasn’t done it mentally, I’m not picking her anymore.”
Of course Koozy finally proved her early mentor right. This time she played and looked like the more experienced player, right out of the box.
Koozy credits a ten-minute conversation with Roger Federer at the Olympics for changing her attitude toward tennis. Having trained in Spain since childhood, Koozy was not happy. She wanted to return to Russia. In their first and only conversation, Roger told her “Look, it’s up to you. You can only depend on yourself. You can control it. If you can live in Moscow and concentrate, do this. If you cannot. . . only you can judge, you know.”
Sounds like simple advice, but sometimes the words matter less than the person speaking them. This conversation was enough to convince her to return to Moscow, ditch the Spanish coaches and work with former champ Olga Morozova and now with former doubles standout Larissa Savchenko.
And now we turn to our old nemesis, (B)dodo. Yes, he’s the dodo again. The preamble to his otherwise good article on the final was all about how Sveta looks pretty now because she had a makeover, and sometimes outside changes can cause inside changes, and vice versa.
You know what, he’s right on two counts. One, a makeover can do a world of good for you in many ways that are unseen. Two, Koozy did often look disheveled. But so do a lot of women – and men – in tennis and in all walks of life. It’s possible Peter has a point here. But given his history of butch posturing, neo-conservativism and bashing Roger for being a wuss… I’m not buying what he’s selling on Koozy. Sorry.
(He even claimed “we don’t like to put too much stock in appearances.” Please. This man has fanwanked Rafa’s biceps and wrote multiple columns attacking Roger’s pretty hair and fancy clothes. He did everything short of calling Roger the Breck Girl. I call bullshit.)
There’s always been something endearing about Koozy that makes you want to root for her. I think there’s something endearing about Safina too. Maybe it’s that her brother is the most talented fuck up who ever fucked up, and that the same brother she idolizes always sounds so ambivalent about her. Insult to injury, he’s best buds with Koozy.
Ah this women’s tennis, it can be hard on your heart, even if you’re cynical about its current state of affairs. I want to see these players succeed, not crack on each other and then dissolve into a puddle of tears.
The final word on Safina v. Kuznetsova goes once again to Bud Collins, who suggested that the two could be like Ohio State and Michigan. Allow him to explain:
This is like Ohio State-Michigan, if I may use a fierce American football rivalry and apply it to tennis. What I have in mind is a great long-time Russian rivalry – Moscow and St. Petersburg – and a representative of each bumping heads with the Championship of France at stake.
Both are 23, proud to have put together the second all-Russian French final. But they come from cities that think ill of each other. That’s OK with Svetlana (Koozy) Kuznetsova from St. Pete and Dinara Safina, the Muscovite. They’re friendly, but their rivalry is hot, now stretched out to a 14th match to decide who will wear the French crown.
The key point he makes is that both are 23. I tend to view Koozy as much older because she’s been around the top ten for so long. Conversely, Safina always seems younger, because although she was pegged early on as a can’t-miss prospect, her game took a long time to come together. But they are young. Maybe Bud is right, and the two will have a rivalry that gives the women’s game something to look forward to. It worked with Williams v. Williams (same household) and Clijsters v. Henin (same little country). Why not Mother Russia?
Passing Shots 
po-david
June 9, 2009
Bud knows……..Ohio St vs Michigan is always the standard