Anatomy of a hot shot: Diana Shnaider on pulling off a 'crazy' winner in Rome
ROME -- Serving for the match at 30-30 against Elise Mertens in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia fourth round, Diana Shnaider did something extraordinary.
Rome: Draws | Scores | Order of play
Stretched out wide, the No. 13 seed casually flicked a crosscourt drop shot. From Shnaider's position, outside the tramlines and far behind the baseline, it was hardly a textbook shot -- let alone with the angle she attempted. But it was so bold — and so well executed — that even the quick-footed Mertens had no chance. It landed for a clean winner, bringing up match point -- which Shnaider converted for a 6-2, 6-3 victory and a place in her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
"If you don't risk, you don't drink champagne," Shnaider said with a broad grin afterward.
But her thinking went deeper than that. Shnaider, 21, explained everything that went through her mind in the split second before she chose the shot.
"Elise changed her tactics a little bit in the last game," Shnaider said. She felt that the Belgian had gone into brick wall mode without missing, and was avoiding Shnaider's lethal forehand.
"I couldn't risk too much and go as hard as I can. I tried to stay solid from the baseline and tried to play deep. But I understood that either I'm going to do mistake or she's going to change down the line and I'm not going to [get to] that shot. I felt that the wind was going a little bit into me, so it was a perfect shot for me to do right [at that moment], because it would be tougher for her to make a run to it. And I just made it on a feeling. It was great, it was crazy."
For Shnaider, it's important to play instinctively, rather than sticking to a rigid strategy.
"When I go on court, I have a plan how to play each player," she said. "But some shots, you just feel down-the-line is the right shot, and you just play it. You just smash it, because you're feeling great."
This is the kind of high-risk, high-reward decision-making that might cause consternation in some coaches, though Shnaider says that most of hers have recognized that her creativity is a strength.
"They understand it's good to have a plan, but for sure the player knows better what she can do on each point and what she feels more," she said. "Coach cannot say I don't feel down-the-line shot today, or whatever. On court everything mostly depends on the player."
Without a coach
In Rome, there’s no coach in Shnaider’s corner. After just a month with Dinara Safina, their partnership ended — a decision that left Shnaider “shocked” and upset.
Safina had given her the news that she no longer wished to travel a few hours after Shnaider's 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4 loss to Iga Swiatek in the fourth round of Madrid -- a match of such quality that, despite the defeat, Shnaider was still on a high from it.
"I felt so good, happy and proud of myself," she said. "The way I was competing, the way I was fighting. After that match with the crazy emotions and happy ending even with a loss, I felt shocked and I didn't know what to say."
Shnaider and Safina would work it out over messages -- Shnaider is appreciative that the former World No. 1 was "straightforward" with her -- and she is in Rome with just her mother and brother, and looking for a coach once again.
"If I had a team around me, people who will be by my side through the year or even longer, I'm going to feel less pressure," she said. "I'd feel even if I lose today, I'm still going to work on things tomorrow and learn something new. I'm looking and I'm open to trying new things."
Nonetheless, the results don't lie. Shnaider's 11-11 season record ahead of Rome was middling, and had not built on her 2024 rise as much as expected. Suddenly without a coach, she's put together her best tournament of the year.
"I'm extra proud of myself," she said. "I feel very happy and proud, the way I was playing and carrying myself on court."
Shnaider will face No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini as she bids to reach her second WTA 1000 semifinal following Toronto last August.
