The best news is that the injury timeout wasnt as serious as it seemed at the time!


I was concerned about that. I guess it was nothing.

I don't mean to say this could be dismissed as a slump. God I wonder, I really do. So you go one, huh? Yet I'm told there is still hope. It is kept in a heart shaped boxDaniela is just lacking in confidence at the moment. She hasn't beaten a top 20 player since beating Safina in Sydney over a year ago and she's probably well aware of this fact. One good result is all it takes-the game and work ethic are there.

I am left to wonder about this. Is there something underneath it all? How far does it go? I can't answer these questions.

I was looking at the record (it is something I can barely do). I notice that she had losses to players:

BACSINSZKY, TIMEA SUI....94..6-2 4-6 4-1 ret. 
SPREM, KAROLINA CRO......296..6-3 [b]1-6 [/b]6-3..(I remember this one) 
KLEYBANOVA, ALISA RUS....42..6-3 4-6 6-1..(OK she is good player -- before this she beat Errani) 
SUGIYAMA, AI JPN.........38..6-3 6-1..(it goes back and forth with them but look at the score) 
GOVORTSOVA, OLGA BLR.....43..6-2 6-4 
GROENEFELD, ANNA-LENA....141..6-4 6-2..
PASZEK, TAMIRA AUT.......85..6-2 5-7 6-4
CIRSTEA, SORANA ROU......39..7-6(2) 6-2
My take is that this is something. Exactly what? 64K$?
Could be simple. Could be complex.

In 2008, after Indian Wells, she barely wins over two consecutive players. In 2007 she had losses to top ten players and she had wins. And a progressed in tournements.


To suggest that a top-ten win will produce a "confidence" such that she is then able to continue. It's not quite ludicrous but I does smack of sports voodoo. And the premise is also flawed. "Confidence" is not a physiological aspect that wins matches. It in the extreme it may loose matches but usually it generates a heightened level of attention. Similar to a choke. She doesn't smash the ball. That's not choking. That is probably a better characteristic than a player who is prone to lose of control. And there is nothing to suggest that any particular win might alleviate the condition.

OK loose a string of matches and ones self-esteem may drop. It could humble a player or discourage the player.

If anything, she is over confident. In the cornet match she eased up. There was no confidence shift (unless she's schizophrenic).


We are talking about professional tennis. It is a competitive sport. One player leave a victor, the other leaves with defeat. I have used the word tenacity before. This is what she seems to lack to me. You can't have anything else to do but win.

You don't have to prove to me that she likes tennis. I know. I play it and I like it too. If she said she hated it, they'll still let her play. Peoples goals in life change.

If I could have just a portion of your time . . .

I don't think she should stop playing tennis. She likes it, right?

The form she brought to Australia, I don't think she is that bad off. I wouldn't say that was bad. I look at it like, she is on the right side of the tracks, yes? So you won't have to wait all day for something to turn this around (well we shouldn't have to wait on this). Like when the door opens up, she is come falling through.

There are lottss of Daniela fans where I live and they were saying to me some weird stuff. Driving me crazy. And I asked them "Who are you to say anything about this? You don't know her, really. And what you are saying to me sounds made up."

But I look at those records and, by golly, she lost where she used to win. And what? She has some form back. OK, shes hitting with top 10 players. There may be a missing piece to this puzzle. Nothing personal.

She needs a good two-handed push out the door.
Stand there with that look of chagrin . . . maybe not you, or the next guy, or that other guy. But do you know what we are dealing with here? This is a manufactured dillema. Tie it up in knots and watch it try and wriggle free.

To tell you the truth, I kind of saw the signs coming into the new year that this wasn't going to be a spectacular AO. My attitude is that of an outside observer. I want her to win but I'm not crazy for it (and then there is the rest of me that feels like shit and so that comes out too, patient as I may be, I'm real thin -- "a hungry man is an angry man").

I clenched my teeth and winced at Brisbane. She still wants it (or so it would seem) but, well, here we go again. Nobody said aaaaaanything about it.

I don't think this is the "real" Daniela. This is a Daniela who hasn't gotten the chance to give all she has. It's not that far out her reach. I'd even recomend to her that she treated it with due diligence, as priority.

Or not. That would be her choice then. I won't hold my breath.
I have to say that if it's "difficult" to face this head on and heart open, she's not likely to do it.
But that is stinkin-thinkin.

Patty Schnyder? Well lets dig up Patty.

I define confidence, like on ice-skates, I have no confidence. If I had rollerblades it takes me sometime to buildup my confidence. Watching matches that she had recently, I did not get the sense that she was "unstable". In fact she seemed to be very confident in what she was doing.


There may be some truth in what you say. There is a thrill in winning. That can be a fuel for future wins. Mostly because there is satisfation in it (winning). More balls go in because it's great hitting them there.

It is obvious that stress effects tennis players. There is a rollercoaster of points. Everything relies on the indivudual. If you look at her, she becomes agitated at times. There is a picture of her in the Dellacqua of her challenging a point. It is a serious look on her face.


I concider the past when speaking of the present. I agree that it was her desire to win, her tenacity, that stands out as being unique. I am not unfamiliar with this aspect.

The Dellacque match. Dellacqua almost had the 1st set. She made an error. Or half a dozen or something. Dellacqua
The set should have been handled.


The second match had it's points. Johansson gave-up in the third set. OK Daniela hung in there.

In the third match she had the first set. She hit out when she shouldn't have -- I haven't seen a set with outstanding UE stats lately. But there-in I had the feeling that she was: "passive", "less aggressive" and I will add that she made a few poor choices in shot selection. Frowny face .



Go back to AO07. Kirlenko match. Didn't get a AAA 2x black diamond award. But she slapped that girl around for the points until it was done.

Radwanska match. She staplegunned Radwanska to a ball boy and proceeded to work her over. (Radwanska had beaten her previously I think -- no matter)

Move on to Ivanovic. She played excellent points. Why she lost?


Maybe the tenacity is not the underlining reason. It seems to me that it starts to lag at times -- lately. Her and Errani were 1-1 and then 6-0. *where's that Higinis turnabout?* The begining of a set is were you don't give up. Not in the last one.

Would winning a big match help her. I think if she takes from it an enjoyment of the sport. A top 10 player may provide kind of game that she wants to play against, it would inspire her.

There are many ways that could come positively to her. To feel she is where she should be, that has to be encouraging.

I think she know where she should be at this point. She was in the YEC in 2007.


We will see when she gets that win. I think it will be more of a sign of the times though.

Danka & Ai vs. Black / Huber
livestream :
on court now..
0:15 .. 0:30 .. BP .. 15:40 .. 1-0*
15:0 .. 30:0 .. GP .. *2-0
15:0 .. 15:15 .. 15:30 .. BP .. 30:40 .. DEUCE .. BP .. 3-0*
15:0 .. 30:0 .. GP .. 40:15 .. 40:30 .. DEUCE .. BP .... GP ... BP ... *3-1
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. GP .. 3-2*
15:0 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. GP .. 40:30 .. *4-2
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. GP .. 4-3*
0:15 .. 0:30 .. 15:30 .. BP .. *4-4
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. GP .. 4-5*
15:0 .. 30:0 .. GP .. *5-5
0:15 .. 0:30 .. 15:30 .. BP .. 30:40 .. 6-5*
0:15 .. 0:30 .. BP .. *6-6
0-1,0-2,0-3,0-4,0-5,0-6,0-7
Black/Huber win first set, 7-6
15:0 .. 15:15 .. 15:30 .. 30:30 .. BP .. *0-1
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. 30:30 .. GP .. DEUCE .. BP .. 1-1*
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. 30:30 .. BP .. DEUCE .. BP .. DEUCE .. BP .. DEUCE .. BP .. DEUCE .. GP .. *2-1
15:0 .. 15:15 .. 15:30 .. 30:30 .. GP .. DEUCE .. GP .. 2-2*
15:0 .. 30:0 .. GP .. 40:15 .. *3-2
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 15:30 .. 30:30 .. BP .. 4-2*
15:0 .. 30:0 .. 30:15 .. 30:30 .. GP .. DEUCE .. BP .. *4-3
0:15 .. 0:30 .. BP .. 15:40 .. 30:40 .. 5-3*
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. SP .. *6-3
Hantuyama win second set, 6-3
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. GP .. 0-1*
15:0 .. 30:0 .. GP .. *1-1
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. 30:30 .. GP .. 1-2*
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. GP .. 40:30 .. DEUCE .. BP .. *1-3
15:0 .. 15:15 .. 15:30 .. 30:30 .. BP .. 2-3*
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 15:30 .. 30:30 .. BP .. *2-4
15:0 .. .. 2-5*
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 30:15 .. 40:15 .. 40:30 .. *3-5
0:15 .. 15:15 .. 15:30 .. BP .. 4-5*
15:0 .. 30:0 .. 30:15 .. GP .. *5-5
0:15 .. 0:30 .. 15:30 .. 30:30 .. GP .. 5-6*
15:0 .. 30:0 .. 30:15 .. 30:30 .. GP .. *6-6
0-1,0-2,0-3,1-3,1-4,2-4,2-5,2-6,3-6,4-6,5-6,6-6,7-6,7-7,7-8,8-8,8-9,9-9,9-10,10-10,11-10,12-10
Danka & Ai win, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6

Bad game for Daniela in particular there to give the break back.

I love seeing Sugiyama playing doubles .. She puts all of herself in the game