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Safina Moves Past Rolle

Written by Lisa Zimmerman
Friday, 31 August 2007
Ahsha Rolle and No. 15 Dinara Safina took to the Grandstand court under overcast skies for their third round match. Although Rolle gave a good effort, Safina came out the victor, 6-4, 6-2. The first set started out in see-saw mode until they arrived at 4-4. With her family rooting her on loudly from their seats just behind and to the right of the umpire’s chair, Rolle showed no tentativeness playing for the first time against the 2006 semifinalist. The 22-year-old Rolle’s serve was her strong-suit, getting her out of more than one jam; although the intermittent wind wreaked havoc with both players’ service games. By mid first set, Safina became increasingly aggravated at her own errors. Toward the end of the set, her inability to reach yet another rocket-like serve from Rolle elicited a loud exasperated yell in Russian. But, Safina was saved when Rolle, with what looked like an easy overhead smash to put away the point, instead sent the ball directly into the net. The very pro-Rolle crowd went up and down with her throughout the match, sending up huge cheers with every success. A brief, but exciting net volley with several seemingly un-returnable drop shots, appeared to be going Rolle’s way and the crowd let out a loud groan of disappointment when it did not. At one point, Rolle looked directly at her mother and shrugged, and her mother nodded back with an encouraging smile. “I think I could have played a little bit better,” said Rolle after the match. “I could have played crucial points a little bit better. I feel like I had a couple of bad shot selections that kind of cost me big games, but I don't think I played bad.” Focused from the outset, Safina, playing in her sixth US Open, displayed a take-no-prisoners attitude and broke Rolle twice in the second set. By that point, on the other side of the net, there was a look of resignation on the American’s face and her confidence was clearly shaken. The Florida native made one more stand, down 3-5 she held serve receiving a thunderous ovation. But, it was Monte Carlo-via-Moscow's Safina who ultimately moved on to the round of 16, where she will play 2006 US Open runner-up, No.1 seed Justine Henin. Match Facts - This is only the third Grand Slam appearance for Ahsha Rolle and her second US Open appearance. She lost in the first round of the 2006 Open. - Dinara Safina has played in five previous US Opens with th 2006 quarterfinals as her best finish. - Rolle is coached by two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Lori McNeil. http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/match_reports/2007-08-31/200708311188592107187.html !
Last Updated ( Friday, 31 August 2007 )