Maybe it was a little bit of both.

“Just the way [Jada] was looking at herself up on the screen,” Clijsters said after she defeated Caroline Wozniaski in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3 to win her second US Open title. “[Husband] Brian [Lynch] and I were just talking to her and like laughing, with, yeah, the way that she was handling it all.

“Brian and I were, you know, a lot more nervous than she was. She just thought it was the most normal thing, I guess. So, no, it was nice to share that with my family, that moment, yeah.”

With just two tournaments under her belt, Clijsters comeback is complete with the US Open championship. Even without that much practice, she mowed down her competition throughout the two weeks and came back to a sport she enjoyed.

And that’s the same sport she put behind herself two and a half years ago. In fact when Jada was born a year and a half ago, she would never of even thought of coming back to the courts and would have hung up on anyone who suggested it.

“I would have gone click,” she said simulating hanging up the phone. “Not until the start of this year, that’s when it came back. So 18 months ago or 18 and a half months ago, tennis wasn’t even on my mind at all, you know. I was just a new mom and just going through those experiences, as well, which is a lot of fun.

“But, you know, yeah, no, I would have definitely hung the phone on you. Sorry.”

Clijsters is trying to prove something to working mothers everywhere. You can have a career and at the same time enjoy your family. Although it would make sense for her to keep it going, the Open Champion is going to take it easy and pick and choose her tournament.

The next will be in Luxembourg in October and then she will think about when she will play next, although the Australian Open is on the calendar. By picking and choosing she will stay fresh and at the same time she will pretty much be the stealth contestant on each of these tournaments, because she won’t accumulate points to move up in the rankings.

But all of that doesn’t matter to Clijsters. She’s a mother now and for her family comes first.

“I don’t know how I’m going to top this, but it’s a challenge, you know,” she said. “It’s a challenge now at each tournament you play to try to show your best tennis and to stay in good shape, obviously. It’s something that I’m going to be, you know, really focusing on is to try to pick, you know, think wisely about my schedule and pick my tournaments and just try to really whatever I play and whenever I play, just really try to, you know, peak at certain situations.

“And, yeah, so I think it’s something that, you know, now with my coach, my physio and everybody, that’s something that we’re just going to keep focusing on, is making sure that, you know, I still work hard and everything.

“But also, they also know how important it is to have that family life at the same time. So I’m not, you know, playing next week or anything. I just want to go home and relax for a little bit.”
And she will enjoy herself. The beaming look on her face tells the whole story. Clijsters wasn’t just able to just win, but she also had Jada there to enjoy the moment.

Yet, like her American counterpart, this Belgian has surprised everyone at Flushing Meadows and now is on the verge of the Finals.

“It has surprised me in one way,” she said. I have been feeling really well the last few weeks. I’ve been playing a couple of great matches, and I’m really playing under a lot of confidence.

“So coming here I was feeling pretty good, and physically and mentally I was feeling really strong. So the first couple of matches, yeah, of course you’re always a little bit surprised of winning great matches in a Grand Slam.

“For sure if it’s the first great Grand Slam you’ve played, because before this my best result was second round. So of course when you get to the third, fourth round, you start surprising yourself. But actually, I’ve been staying pretty calm. I’ve worked really hard for this.”

She defeated Kateryna Bondarenko today, 7-5, 6-2, to earn a date with Caroline Wozniacki. The 19 year-old is very confident, mainly because the bad bounces are now going her way.

“The last couple of weeks I lost some tight matches to the top players,” she said. I lost 6-4 in the third, 7-6 in the third. So it was always like those few key points that I lost.

“I guess now those key points I just feel more concentrated physically and mentally. I feel stronger on the court. I’m sure that those two points has helped me a lot this few weeks.”

It’s been a long road for Wickmayer, who moved to the United States to learn at the Saddlebrook Academy back in 1999. Her mother Daniella passed away from cancer and she convinced her grieving father Marc to move away from Belgium and her family.

“I lost her in ’99, and I just started playing tennis a few weeks or a few months before that just to get my mind off things,” she said. “I guess I just decided as a little girl to get away from home and put my memories and thoughts to something else, so we moved to Florida just to, yeah, my dad and me, just to get things off, just to, yeah, focus ourself on other things in life and try to move on.”

And move on she has. Although she will never forget her mother, the bond she developed with her father is unbreakable. Wickmayer now is realizing her dream. Never past the second round before – she made it past the first at Roland Garros this year – the young rising star is now on the verge of the spotlight.

How she will shine is anyone’s guess, but Wickmayer is ready for Wozniacki, a person she played back in juniors.

“I’ve not really watched her play a lot, so I’m going to watch a little bit on TV today,” she said. “But like I said before, every match I play, I just go on the court and play my own game.

“Sometimes I’ll adjust a little bit during my match, but not really a lot. I just go out there, have fun, and do everything I can.”

The 13th seed certainly put on a great show using his athleticism to stay in long rallies entertaining a packed Ashe Stadium but ultimately it was Nadal’s bulllike mentality that allowed him to come away with a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win in what was a fun match that lasted two hours and  45 minutes.

Early on, Monfils proved why he was so dangerous breaking Nadal early to jump out to a 5-2 lead. However, that didn’t discourage the six-time grand slam winner who after holding broke back and then held suddenly squaring the first set at five all. Fittingly, an ultracompetitive set that saw plenty of action packed rallies with each player pushing the other all over the court needed a tiebreaker.

In it, it was the flying Frenchman who made all the right shots plays pulling out the breaker when he forced an errant Nadal shot, letting out an emphatic scream while pointing to his heart after taking it.

“No, no, I think I came back well in the 5 4 playing very good game to break back. And in the tiebreak he didn’t had any mistake with his serve. He play all first serves, so he beat me the first set, was tough,” Nadal said.

“But I still there, and physically it was tough for both. But I think for him a little bit more.”

Up a set, before Monfils could blink, a determined Nadal broke early in the second set and seemed on his way to leveling things. But just when it looked that way, here came Monfils right back with a magnificent game to break back for 3-4. So pumped was he after winning some wild exchanges with one going 31 strokes, it looked like he had a shot at an upset and his first Open quarterfinal.

As often happens though with Nadal, you just can’t count him out. Fittingly with ESPN’s John McEnroe noting that the 23 year-old from Mallorca would ‘come even harder’, that’s exactly what happened making for one of the most memorable games of the tournament. With Monfils trying to draw even at four, the two played some unbelievable points that seemed to take forever mesmerizing the crowd.

Following two successful exchanges, a pumped up Monfils pointed to his chest. Two points from drawing even, the point of the match came with Monfils and Nadal going toe to toe. About half a dozen times, it looked like the Frenchman had the point won but a desperate Rafa randown a shot just stabbing back a slice backhand to stay in it. Eventually, he drew a miss to get to 30-All, then pumping his fists. Possibly tired, Monfils lost the next two points to drop serve falling behind 3-5.

“I think I get a little fatigue. Also, Rafa playing good. It’s credit to him. He played more deep, more, heavy, more flight on his shot,” Monfils admitted.

Serving to square it wasn’t easy for Nadal who got plenty of resistance from a focused Monfils, who fought off three set points with great backhand winners. Instead of falling apart, the 2009 Australian Open champ got even stingier winning a tough point setting up a fourth set point to which he gave a double pump. After finally closing it out, he pounded his chest as if to say, ‘Bring it on!’

“I think it was a bit tough to keep going like that, to take the ball. I think I stepped back a little bit and just give him I think more time and more time to set up,” assessed Monfils. “And also, I think today he played very good, very good. His defense was very, very strong today. So I mean, this where I think the change for me.”

“Yeah, first two sets was really tough, really hard physically and I think the tennis was very good level,” said Nadal in agreement.

Perhaps the quality of the play took something out of Monfils. Either that or the moment got to him because he put up token resistance in a 28-minute third set that saw Nadal stick to the strategy of working his opponent over to the point of exhaustion. After some rallies, he was bent over trying to catch his breath.

Nadal took full advantage breaking three times in the set with the second for 4-1 resulting in the trainer coming out to retape Monfils’ wrist. With little left in the tank, he lost the next two games firing a wild forehand way long to hand Nadal a two sets to one lead.

Was there anything left for a comeback which an enthusiastic Ashe wanted to see even chanting, “Mon—fils, Mon—fils, Mon—fils” after he dropped serve to fall down an early break.

At first, it worked as he bounced back breaking Nadal while frequently talking to himself as if to say, ‘You can do it.’

But following a feisty Nadal hold for 4-3, Monfils finally cracked getting broken at love donating the eighth game with four errors including a pair of doubles that gave him an eighth service break in 14 attempts. By comparison, his opponent also did good going three for six but was silenced when it really mattered.

“I mean, I had like a lot practice behind me, and just come out with few match and a little bit practice,” pointed out Monfils who missed Wimbledon with an injury and had played only three matches entering the Open.

“So didn’t have that confidence also to keep going, didn’t have the miles in my legs. If I played maybe six tournaments before the US Open even, I think it will be more than an hour, 30 minutes. It can be two hours and maybe push him when I’m back in second set at 4 3.”

A cool Nadal then served out the match drawing one last of Monfils’ 63 unforced errors, advancing to a third Open quarter. Last year, he improved by making the semis before departing at the hands of upset victim Andy Murray, who oddly enough he just passed again to regain the No.2 ranking.

Afterwards, a very pleased Nadal thanked the crowd for their support even getting some unexpected love from a fan who ran onto the court to take a pic before Open Security took the grinning stranger away.

“No, for me it wasn’t the problem. The guy was really nice,” Nadal chuckled, then adding:

Yes. He was a great fan. He said, I love you, and he kiss me.”

Even the unexpected doesn’t faze him. He’ll try to keep it going against Gonzalez, who figures to be a good challenge.

“Right now, the rest of the tournament I know gonna be very difficult. I have to enjoy it. I must enjoy that, and I must to play very aggressive and the best tactically if I gonna have chances to continuing win any match.”

Might another Rafa vs Roger grand slam final finally happen in the city that never sleeps?

It remained possible after tonight.

“I definitely think my face has definitely changed over the years,” said the unseeded Clijsters. “I think when I was 15, 16 coming on, I remember Wimbledon, when I did well there, you know, I really had to stop myself from like asking everybody for autographs in the locker room and everything.

“I just remember just being so in awe with everything that was happening around me and then playing on the center court and everything. It just overwhelms you a little bit. You kind of just forget what you have to do out there to play good tennis.”

Yet now Clijsters is a veteran and even though she’s been away from the game for two years, the 2005 US Open Champion knows that an older tennis player needs to play wiser, yet sometimes you have to go past your limits.

“I believe that you shouldn’t focus on stopping at your limit,” she said. “I think you can always improve and improve, you know, where, in a match you don’t have to reach that far. I think that’s why we train and that’s why we have, you know, very intense workouts months before you get to a tournament is so that you can go out there and not worrying about, you know, I’m getting close to my limit. I have to slow down a little bit or anything.

“So I think that’s something that is mentally very important I think for any player, is knowing that, you know, I’ve worked out a lot harder in practice or in the gym or anything, so I know that I’m capable of doing it during a match, whether it’s a three-set match or even for the men a five-set match.”

Although overshadowed by up and comers like Melanie Oudin and Caroline Wozniacki, Clijsters has been one of the major stories at the Open, she will face the winner of Serena Williams/Flavia Pennetta match later tonight.

Much like Clijsters, Williams is a veteran on the tour – she’s actually a year older than Belgian – and they faced each other 10 years ago when they were just teenagers, like the 17 year-old Oudin and 19 year-old Wozniacki.

“I remember playing against her here a few years ago or many, many years ago, let’s say,” she said. “I think it was 2000 or ’99 even, so ten years ago -whew – where I was kind of in a similar situation as maybe Oudin or someone where you’re up and you’re playing those big matches.

“But it was fun. It’s just great. But that’s where I first saw, you know, the type of players that, you know, the type of player that Serena is. She was missing a few more shots. I was kind of just bringing a lot of balls back and she was kind of missing them. But then at 5-2 in the third set where I was up, she just, bang, started going for aces, started hitting winners. Like something switched in her head.”

Yet, Williams needs to beat Pannetta to have a date with Clijsters, and the crafty veteran will be ready for either player.

“You know, she’s a good friend, and I was extremely happy for her when she reached a top 10 ranking,” Clijsters said. “Probably I think it was after Cincinnati, she got to her first top 10 ranking. So that was really nice to just see that. She’s worked very hard and she’s a fun girl, as well. She’s improved her game.”

And if Clijsters is able to move on, she could face one of the teenagers in the Finals, something, the youthful veteran would look forward to challenging.

“I love watching Oudin play, Wozniacki, Wickmayer, it’s so much fun for me to just watch on TV and see the emotions that come out of them when they win a match,” Clijsters said. “I get so happy when I just see that.

“But then again, I think, you know, I’m talking to like my coach and everyone, Wow, she’s only 17. They were like, Yeah, but you were like that. You don’t think like that at the moment. You don’t really think about the age or anything. Unless like now that I’m older, I look back and I’m like, ‘Wow, you know, they’re young.’ You see that, the new face that’s still on there. They enjoy everything so much and they look at things in a different way when they get to a Grand Slam, because it’s so new.”

Spoken like at true veteran at age 26.

And now, after her three set fourth round win over Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), Caroline Wozniacki is going to face Melanie Oudin in one of the more anticipated matches in this US Open.

“I think about just as a great run from both me and Melanie,” said Wozniacki, who made the Quarterfinals in a Grand Slam for the first time in her young career. “I think we’ve played some really good tennis, both of us. I think it’s going to be a great match. I don’t really think about who’s the favorite, who is not.

“I just enjoy playing on the big stadiums with such a huge crowd.”

The 19 year-old from Denmark is actually the favorite due to her No. 9 seeding in the tournament. She is the highest ranked player left after she downed the No. 6 ranked Kuznetsova.

“I feel like I’ve done some really good results this year,” said Wozniacki. “I feel like I’ve done well at the Grand Slams as well. I just lost to some players that were playing better than me that certain day.

“This time I just wanted to try to do my best again. I mean, if someone beats me, they have to play better than me, but I’m not gonna stop fighting, that’s for sure.”

And uch like the puncher she will play on Wednesday, this young up and comer had to comeback in her match against a Russian. After dropping the first set, she fought in the second.

Although she had a number of set points, Kuznetsova was able to come back to force a tiebreaker, which she eventually won after a hard back and fourth extra frame.

“I was just trying to fight for every point,” she said. “Maybe I was a little bit lucky, but that’s what tennis is all about. Sometimes you’re playing amazing and you lose a match, and sometimes you’re a little bit lucky. It’s one point that can change the whole match.”

“I think in the second set I should have played better,” Kuznetsova said. “I mean, I was playing unbelievable. I just hit too many unforced errors and I could not control my emotions. And I wanted it so much, so it was pretty hard to control.

“I was giving her some chances. What was the score in the second set? I don’t know.  First games I had chances to break her, and I was going for too much because everything was going so well.  And I give her chance to come back, to believe that she can do that.

And it did as she had the momentum in the third and even was serving for match, up 5-4, but the former Open Champion came back to force another tiebreak. Three match point and Wozniacki was able to finish her opponent with a beautiful backhand down the line, which Kuznetsova returned into the net.

“Overall I think I lost, like – a credit to her.,” Kuznetsova said. “She beat on the court, and she was putting balls back, but I lost to myself because I did so many unforced errors. These unforced errors, you cannot win against nobody. It’s no chance.

“Yeah, was fighting hard because it’s really what I want.  And I feel like I’m in great shape. Everything was not on my side, and I was doing too many unforced errors, not controlling the situation so much. But I think I played the game smart. I was trying to come to the net. I served better except the unforced errors.”

So now it’s enthusiasm vs. Sunshine as Oudin takes on another ranked player. Yet this time she’s not Russian, but another likable player, who has open surprises of her own.

“[Oudin] is a really good player, Wozniacki said. “She made it this far.  She’s been winning some amazing matches. She’s on a good winning streak. It’s going to be tough, especially also with the whole crowd supporting her. But I’m just going to go out there and enjoy.”

And maybe she can spread a little sunshine a long the way.

Question 1: Pleased to get through that, considering you weren’t feeling your best?

Question 2: Was it the heat, as well? Did that get to you?

Question 3: Had you prepared any differently in terms of what you ate or drank before?

If you didn’t know any better you would think Murray would be going home, but he did in fact win his second round match against Chilean Philip Capdeville, he just dropped the second set,  6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.

“I played three, you know, very good sets and one poor one,” Murray responded to the first question. “But you’re allowed to play a bad set sometimes.  I came back well from it. You know, I don’t know, just felt a little bit lethargic, a little bit low on energy. You know, I don’t know why. But, you know, managed to pick it up at the end when I needed to.”

You see, Murray is used to this kind of treatment. Over in Great Brittan the Scottish superstar is Alex Rodriguez,  Brad Pitt, and Paris Hilton all rolled into one. He is their great white hope for a Grand Slam champion, and even if it’s not Wimbledon this year, Murray is expected to at least repeat his final appearance of 2008.

That’s what makes it tough for the 22 year-old, who is ranked seeded second behind Roger Federer. For the English, he is the star, a young player who a .faded empire is pinning their hopes upon. Just look at the other top players out there. Most are European who proudly wear the colors of their flags on their sleeves.

Much like the way New York has a rivalry with Boston, Great Brittan has its feuds with every other country in the EU. So with every Federer win and Rafael Nadal victory, British pride takes a hit. Remember this was once an empire that controled most of the world. These days they can’t even win their own tournament.

That is until Murray came on the scene. Last Saturday, he said he doesn’t get followed home in New York like he did in England. In fact, he finds the city rather relaxing, although he is sleeping in a hotel.

“You know, Wimbledon for me is nice away from the court, because at the end of the day you get to go back and sleep in your own bed and be at home,” he said. “In some ways, that’s very, very relaxing, compared to having to stay in hotels and whatnot.

“I mean, I’ve always loved playing this tournament since I was young. I like the atmosphere here. I like New York as a city. You know, whether you get recognized or not to me doesn’t make a huge difference on how much I enjoy a place or not.”

Plus Flushing Meadows is the site of his best finish in a Grand Slam and most likely the place he will eventually win, if he can ever get by Federer.

“This is my best surface,” he said. “I mean, physically I think most of the players – well, for me anyway, you go into Australia probably feeling the best all around. Mentally fresh, you know, physically you’re going to be in good shape because you’ve just had the off-season. You can make sure you prepare properly.

“You know, here I’ve obviously played a lot of matches, so I feel match tight. But it’s a long year. Mentally I feel fresh just now, but it’s a little bit different to the start of the year.”

So maybe the British press should lay off of Murray a little bit. He has brought British pride back to tennis and is a classy player in a sport filled with good guys.

Remember, it’s okay to have a bad day, and today, he only had a bad set.

But you can forgive the Georgia native as she won the match of her life earlier in the day, defeating No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva in three sets, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

“During the match I had confidence, and, I mean, I was right there with her the entire time, said Oudin, who is following up a fourth round performance at Wimbledon. “I didn’t think that she wasn’t blowing me off the court. She wasn’t hitting winners left and right on me. We had long points. I was right there with her.

“I knew if I could play well and keep being aggressive and staying in there that I could do it.”

Describing her play as fearless, the young American went right after her Russian counterpart. She held her own in the first set and then dominated the final two, putting Dementieva on her heels as she went right after her opponent.

And she was playing hurt. With her left thigh wrapped, nursing a strained muscle, which required attention from the trainers in the third. Yet, the young girl was able to play through the pain for her biggest win of her life.

“I strained my IT band a little bit, and it was getting better,” she said. “I think today though, kind of everything that was going on, the whole – first time playing on Arthur Ashe, I was beating No. 4 in the world, about to beat her. I think that it just kind of started cramping a little bit. I should have had the whole thing taped.

“Just a little bit of everything. A lot of things were going through my mind, so I think a lot of things went into it. But I think it will be fine for my next match.”

Everything has been going fine for Oudin this year. Although she never moved past the second round in any tounaments other than the two Grand Slams she played, she surprised a number of people in London by defeating Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon before she set foot in Queens.

Now, though more is expected from her. She has been called the third best American woman behind the Williams sisters and is an up and coming star in the WTA circuit.

“I think that it’s really cool to be called the third best American behind the Williams sisters,” she said. “That’s just incredible since I’ve watched them since I was a little girl. They’ve been like my idols. I’m really proud of that to be the third best American.”

And Oudin really believes in herself. In fact, she wrote “Believe” on her sneakers during her match, representing her commitment to the sport.

“For me, it’s all about that,” Oudin said. “It’s believing that I can beat these girls and hang there with them. If I didn’t have that, then there’s no way I would have been able to win today.

“Because believing like in myself and my shots and playing within myself today, that’s how I won is knowing I believe that I could do it.”

Oudin will have her work cut out for her on Saturday as she plays Maria Sharapova who won in straight sets over 17 year-old New Jersey native Christina McHale, 6-2, 6-1.

After missing almost a year due to a shoulder injury, the tall lanky Russian took the court again in Flushing Meadows. The result was a straight-set win against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-3, 6-0.

“I was pretty happy because I kind of came from a slow court in Toronto to a pretty fast court here,” said Sharapova, who is playing in just eighth match of the season. “So it was all about adjustment.

“I played a tricky opponent who doesn’t give you much rhythm. It was real important to stay on top of her and do the right things from the beginning. I thought I had a little bit of a slow start, but once I got going, I did a a good job maintaining.”

It’s been a strange year for Sharapova, who is also making a comeback. She was out for almost all of 2008 with a shoulder injury, including last year’s Open. Although, she came back in time for this year’s French and Wimbledon, Queens is the place where she is at full strength, even though they said on ESPN she was looking towards 2010.

“I have been fortunate this summer to play as many matches as I have,” she said. “I think in Toronto, I played in six matches in seven days. I don’t remember the last time I did that. I feel like I’ve learned a lot and stepped it up. I certainly feel like I’m cutting down on the errors and getting confidence back certainly.”

Of course, much like any injury, Sharapova still has to worry about the shoulder. She said it now takes her longer to recover after each tournament, which is something she is not used to.

“It’s a little bit of a new stage for me, kind of dealing with that, and really being smart on the practice court,” said Sharapova, who is now 23-7 this year.  “Obviously you have a week to train before a grand slam but you want to do the right thing. I still have to work on my strength and do my program every single day of the last week, but also I want to go on the court and hit the tennis ball.”

“It’s a compromise. It’s something new in my career but that’s OK.”

That also means a new serve motion, which is easier on her arm.

“I’m pretty mobile,” she said. “My joints are pretty loose. I had a pretty loose motion but by the tie I would get to the hitting position my rotator cuff would be out of place because I am so mobile. With a shorter motion, it doesn’t have so much room to move around. It’s much more stable in the socket.”

And that will help her shoulder not get injured again.

In other words: She’s back.

But no one told her first round opponent Australian Olivia Rogowska, ranked 167th in the world.

Instead of cruising to the next matchup. Safina struggled. First losing the first set, 7-6, then after taking the second set, 6-2, had to rally to take the final after being down 3-0 for a 6-4 win.

“I’m just like, I had so many opportunities, the set just didn’t go into my hands,” Safina said. “5-3, two balls that she hit, one on the line, one return, and then she kind of frame, I don’t know what, and the ball touched just a little bit, you know.

“Played terrible game on 5-4, Love-30 on her serve, and there I didn’t do anything and I would say poorly tiebreak from my side. But, you, know, I lost it, and definitely I would never give up. Just okay, second set, okay, just try to do more.”

This just may be the wakeup call the 23 year-old needs. All her life she has a goal to be No. 1 and now that she is at the top, it’s very easy to drop off. And she knows all she has to blame for it would be herself.

“I try to do something good, but when it doesn’t go good, then I go like too much into myself, what I’m doing right, wrong, instead of thinking more what I have to do with the ball,” she said. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just –the time, you know, it’s just there and you’re playing. Sometimes things go, some balls doesn’t go. Then, you know, I hit — I don’t challenge the ball and the ball is like this out. Then she challenged the ball and the ball is like this in.

“Just like everything goes wrong, but you still somehow manage, you know, to pull the match out, you know. I guess, you know, I had to do everything today.  It was a bad day and then some good points. So hopefully from today on it’s going to get better.”

Safina has some help. She can look to her brother Maret Safin, who struggled early on in when he won the 2000 US Open. Much like his sister, Safin had to rally in the first round to beat Sebastien Grosjean, which paved the way for his only Queens win.

“He won 7-6 in the fifth set, and they finished, I think it was 5-4,” Safina said. “He was up and the rain started, so they finished another day. So and then he had another like difficult match against Pozzi. So I remember he said he was struggling from the first round, but he made it. So maybe I’m following his steps this time.”

Possibly, but Safina will have to face stiff competition. Serena Willias cruised in her first round and aria Sharapova, who is looking for a comeback is pretty much could have played a ball machine rather than  Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova. Even an injured Venus Williams was able to eek out a win, which means she will be much stronger next round.

All this means is that it’s tough at the top and Safina only has one person to fall back upon – herself.

“I don’t really like think let’s say I’m No. 1 and like this,” she thought. “No. I think what I have to do. So it’s not really that I step on the court and I’m thinking, oh, I’m No. 1. I cannot lose this match. I mean, definitely, nobody is unbeatable in this world. I just think what I have to do right. That’s the only thing. But not really that say like, Oh, I cannot lose. More I think like what I have to do.”

And she better, when she faces German Kristina Barrois on Thurday.

“I know her,” she said. “I saw her playing. She’s a great player. Like very good serve. She does everything on the court. So it’s not easy match, but I still think that I have to focus more on myself, what I have to do, than to think what she can put against me.”