Safina struggles again, but pulls out another win

NEW YORK — Top-ranked Dinara Safina overcame another shaky day of tennis Thursday to advance to the third round of the U.S. Open with a three-set victory over Kristina Barrois.

Safina won 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3, earning the victory despite 38 unforced errors and 15 double-faults in her second straight uncomfortably close match at Flushing Meadows.

She is ranked first despite having never won a major and she did little in this match against the 67th-ranked player in the world to cool the debate about whether she really belongs there.

No. 2 Serena Williams, going for her third major of the season, dispatched her opponent 6-1, 6-1 in 53 minutes in the final match Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Safina, playing in the smaller Louis Armstrong Stadium for a Thursday matinee, needed 2 hours, 13 minutes, much of which looked like the 2 hour-25 minute display she put on in her three-set opener against Olivia Rogowska.

In fact, the endings of the first sets were identical: Safina double-faulting on set point to lose a 7-5 tiebreaker. And, as in the first round, Safina came back with a stronger second set to win 6-2.

The third set was 3-3 when Barrois' game collapsed. She missed an easy forehand on break point against her in the seventh game, then committed five unforced errors over the final two games before losing it with a double-fault on match point.

Barrois finished with 43 unforced errors, including 17 in the final set.

For Barrois to play shaky tennis is one thing. For the top-ranked woman in the world to do it is another.

The topic of her worthiness as No. 1 — a ranking she'll keep no matter what happens at the U.S. Open — has spread beyond her and Serena Williams. Both their siblings fielded questions about it after their matches Wednesday.

Safina's brother, Marat Safin, predictably came to her defense.

"The poor girl, she's trying her best," said Safin, a former No. 1 himself. "She's doing really well. She gets the attention, but not the kind of attention that a person deserves, especially when you're No. 1 in the world."

Venus Williams refused to get drawn too deeply into the debate, saying it merely shows the rankings system rewards consistency over big-event wins.

Serena has won three of the past four major tournaments, but she hasn't won a single nonmajor during that time.

"Maybe it pays more," she said with a smile, when asked to explain the disparity. "I guess I'm trying to pay off my mortgage."

In other early action Thursday, Tommy Haas, seeded No. 20, defeated American Robert Kendrick. On the women's side, 13th-seeded Nadia Petrova advanced while No. 30 Alona Bondarenko lost.

Others scheduled to play Thursday were Americans James Blake and Sam Querrey in the afternoon and Andy Roddick in the evening. Maria Sharapova also was scheduled for Thursday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Venus and Serena Williams were also supposed to play their opening match in doubles, though Venus' knee has been bothering her and it was questionable if she would play.