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| The tall, strong Russian had a tremendous May through September 2008 stretch, winning four titles and reaching the French Open and Olympics finals. The question for the ultra powerful 22-year-old is not how much she wants it – she doesn’t quit on herself any more – but whether she can overcome her nerves at the business end of a tournament. So far, she’s only shown that ability outside of the majors. It's up to Safina to prove that she can go one better. | Cornet is just one more excellent player to come out of France, joining what is now a long list of current top 40 players that includes top-10ers Jo Tsonga and Gilles Simons, as well as 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli. The 19-year-old has an effervescent personality and ended 2008 ranked No.16 and won her first career title in Budapest. |
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| Some decent play at the Hopman Cup was followed up by much better form in Sydney, where she went down to Elena Dementieva in the final. After that loss, she called herself “stupid.” Here, she’s played smarter and more aggressively, getting through a tricky match against Elena Makarova and then blowing Kaia Kanepi’s doors off. | The Frenchwoman reached the quarters of Sydney, falling to none other than Safina, and last year, also reached the final of Tier I Rome and Acapulco. She scored one of the most important victories of her career in knocking out Daniela Hantuchova in the third round in three sets, the same woman who had beaten her in her last two previous appearances at the Australian Open. |
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| Because she’s more fit, she’s better balanced, more patient and doesn’t tire as easily. Safina hits a heavy ball off both wings, has an excellent first serve and when she’s determined to win, fights like fury, witness her performance at last year’s French Open where she fought off match points against Maria Sharapova and Dementieva en route to the final. | On the outside, she doesn’t appear to be incredibly powerful, but she has strong legs and arms and when she moves inside the court, she can crush the ball when taking the ball on the rise. She has terrific balance and speed. |
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| Do what she did in Sydney, which is to stare down the teenager and tell her who is boss. Safina is an excellent attacking player, who by employing first strike tennis can immediately dictate off her serve and return. Her defense has improved, too, but she’s much more confident when she’s taking huge cuts at the ball. She has to do so here. | This is a dicey contest for the Frenchwoman, who rarely needs to trust her hands against Safina’s more powerful onslaught. She had to get the Russian moving, commit to long points and return serve extremely well. Cornet is behind the eight ball here as Safina is more physically imposing and experienced, but the Russian is prone to getting down on herself and if the teenager can hang in, she’ll certainly have a chance to pull off an upset. |
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| They played for the first time in Sydney, a 6-3 6-4 victory for Safina on a hot day, a match that Safina said was given to her and a contest that Cornet said the Russian seized from her. | |
