This Thrill Ride may need to be closed for repairs

It's one thing to excite fans by coming back when you're a set and a break down, but--playing in the first round of a major and almost collapsing in the face of wild card--is a bit much. Both top seed Dinara Safina and her opponent, wild card Olivia Rogowska, made a combined total of 113 unforced errors in a match that was sometimes a bit hard to watch. Had Rogowska possessed something of a forehand or a better serve, she might have walked away with an upset. On the other hand, when the end was near, it was Rogowska who collapsed and Safina who rose to the occasion, but--in true Thrill Ride form--only after the she went down 0-3, 15-40.

I like it when, driven by desperation, Thrill Ride puts on her champion's face and saves herself at the last minute. But it is a stressful way to live, and we can only begin to guess what it takes out of her emotionally. To hold the trophy at the U.S. Open, Safina has to win seven straight matches. She can afford few like the one she played today, which lasted last two hours and 35 minutes. The world number 1's first serve win percentage was 60. Safina hit one ace and double-faulted eleven times. She wound up with more than twice as many unforced errors as winners. Her opponent was even more error-prone, but she was also relentless, and--until the end--appeared fearless. Rogowska received wild applause when she left the stadium, and she deserved it.

Of course, there's always the possibility that getting past Rogowska will put Safina more at ease, and permit her to play the kind of quality tennis of which she is capable. But with her history of letting her anxiety get the better of her, we can't count on that. She knows her problem is mental, but identifying a problem is not the same as solving it. It doesn't help that--everywhere she turns--Safina feels she has to defend her right to hold the world's highest ranking. Some people say her chronically scowling coach does not help, but I don't think it's up to us to judge that relationship.

Fans like excitement, but we would probably settle for a bit less of it if it means Thrill Ride can keep rolling in Flushing Meadows.