Is there a more fragile mind in top flight tennis than that of Elena Dementieva? Many is the compassionate observer who has laboured with the sad Muscovite as she has time and again struggled with her self-belief and the error strewn service action which repeatedly pose the question ‘How on earth is she a top ten player?’ But this surely took things to a new low.

Admittedly Dinara Safina is establishing herself as the comeback queen of Roland Garros; first battling her way from the brink of defeat against Maria Sharapova and now going equally close to a French Open exit in this quarter final. But it has to be said that unlike Sharapova, who never really gave up fighting, Dementieva did not just give her countrywoman a glimpse of opportunity. She positively opened the gate and then ran away.

It really is amazing that Dementieva has accomplished so much in the sport given the brittleness of her mindset. Those with a long memory can caste their minds back four years to the all Russian final against Anastasia Myskina – hardly a classic to be savoured it has to be said – and recall her loudly berating herself, or rather her malfunctioning serve.

Double fault counting has become the saddest statistic in Dementieva’s make up after her service action required severe remodelling following shoulder surgery more than a decade ago. However it double faults were not her downfall against Safina – she only served four compared to her victorious opponent’s eight – more just a horrendous crisis of confidence when things began to slip away.

Everyone in the stadium knew Dementieva should have tied up victory yet she blew things with the most horribly hit backhand return that flew way long. However that was only one point, many more went the other way because she was struggling with herself even more than with what her opponent was producing from the opposite side of the net.

Of all the Russians currently inside the world’s top 20 Dementieva is the most experienced and just a couple of months ago won the title in Dubai with most of the world’s top players in the hunt. However she has long struggled to think on the run and while Safina was able to change her game to suit the occasion, Dementieva just dug herself deeper and deeper into a hole.

Safina is an infectious character with many of her big brother Marat’s traits. At one point she vented her anger but letting fly at the courtside geraniums with her racket and forehanded a flying petal directly into the eye of a line judge. Dementieva by comparison is a timid sort of person who regularly seems in agony just being forced to recount her failings.