Safina wears emotions on her sleeve

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2008

NEW YORK (AFP) — Sobs turned to lobs as an emotional Dinara Safina stormed into the quarter-finals of the US Open, defeating German qualifier Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-5, 6-0.

Safina's coach Zeljko Krajan had to raise Safina's spirits before she would agree to take the court Monday against the 141st-ranked Groenefeld on the 10,000-seat Armstrong Stadium.

"After the warm up I just started to cry. I could not stop crying," Safina said. "My coach said, 'Just go out there'.

"I said, 'I cannot push anymore myself'. He said, 'We know that you're not a machine. Just go out there and don't think.

"He told me again, 'just please don't show me any emotions, like these negative emotions. If you want, don't show even positive. Just go on the court and do whatever...