Sports Thread #1 for 5/25/09: This Has To Be Dinara Safina's Time

Photo from FFP and RolandGarros.com

Dinara Safina is still just 22 years old. She is number one in the world, and playing the best tennis clearly of anybody right now (and that extends pass the women's game and even into, well, Mr.Nadal territory). She is no longer one of those inconsistent players that just can't push into the Top 5 (let alone the Top 10) like she was 14 months ago. Instead, she may remain one of the game's elite players, especially on clay, for a long time.

Despite all those auspicious factors, however, if Dinara Safina does not win the French Open in this current fortnight, her best chance at winning a Grand Slam will go away...forever.

A lot of things point in the favor of Marat Safin's sister to win this tournament besides her form, and that was before her utter demolition of British number one Anna Keothavong today by the score of 6-0, 6-0. Her main competition at denying her the title she should win are currently hobbled, off form or both.

Serena Williams isn't fit, and if she's not fit on clay, she's totally limited. Venus Williams, as her latest up and down performance against Bethanie Mattek-Sands today, losses focus and precision just too much (even if this is also her best shot to win at Roland Garros). Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic are where Safina doesn't want to be ( a player who has seen her chances to get on the Grand Slam scoreboard go by). Ana Ivanovic is lost in translation still. Svetlana Kuznetsova is Svetlana Kuznetsova. Maria "The Shriester" Sharapova is concentrating more on not embarrassing herself at Wimbledon like she did last year by just getting matches under her belt.

Though all her chief rivals are at least a notch below her right now, there is one thing that doesn't ride in Safina's favor, and that is her draw. In fact, the potential road to Grand Slam glory for the Russian is quite brutal. The terrific young talent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova looms in the third round. The compact Jie Zheng should be there in the last 16 stage. A final's rematch with Ivanovic in the quarterfinals is on the minds of many pundits and fans. And if Venus stays discipline, the match of the tournament should take place between those two in the semis.

Some even thought that drawing Keothavong in the first round added to the arduous work Safina would have to do in this tournament. But all of those sentiments about a difficult draw should not matter to Safina at all. And with the way she played against the UK's premier player today, it appears that is far from the world's number one mind. Locked in from point one, it was full optimum the entire match from Safina. You couldn't ask for a more encouraging commencement as a Safina supporter than what transpired today on Chatrier Stadium.

Now can Safina continue to build off her momentum of being the dominant player this spring on clay and parley that into a Grand Slam where she is the clear favorite (at least to me, she is) to win?

She better. Because if she doesn't, her best shot at leaving the "Best players to never win a grand Slam list" will have gone away. Possibly forever.