First Grand Slam and the No. 1 Spot

There are three women in WTA who have the chance to win her first grand slam plus the coveted title of World No. 1. They are Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva, and Dinara Safina.

Jelena Jankovic She was ranked No. 1 for a week this summer. She is one of the most hardworking player in WTA tour, playing up to 15 tournaments before US Open. This earned her a lot of points so even if she has to win her first grand slam yet, she had been in the No. 1 position. She is playing for semifinals match with Elena Dementieva on Friday, September 5th.

Elena Dementieva She won this year's Olympics. Winning that gold medal has given her so much self-confidence and she is playing rock solid, not yet dropping a set. I first saw Dementieva in a match between Maria Sharapova. It was a mismatch. The commentators commented on the lack of power on her serve. She lost that day to Sharapova. She has tremendously improved since that day and now, she is looking at that first grad slam and No. 1 title.

Dinara Safina I first saw her in this year's French Open during the fourth round match with Sharapova (Sharapova again- I think if it's Sharapova, I'm watching the match). The commentators were saying that two years back it was Safina who beat Sharapova in the earlier rounds of French Open. The camera showed Safina and behin her was Sharapova, both of them waiting to be called to enter the court.I saw Safina and I notice that she is special. There was just a decisiveness in her. In the match that was about to happen, she was the underdog and definitely not the media nor the crowd's favorite. And as history would have it, Safina won the match. A stunning comeback after a match point in the second set, 5-2. Then she did it again with Dementieva in the quarterfinals-- a match point in the second set, 5-2.

Now here are the three of them, all vying for the No. 1 spot and the first grand slam trophy.