Archive for: dinara safina
There were a whole host of tennis professionals that attended the recent wedding of Elena Dementieva. Maria Kirilenko, Igo Andreev, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Vera Zvonareva, Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Vesnina and Vera Dushevina, among others.
“They were sitting with us, talking on the microphone, they were dancing together. It was unbelievable. Normally when you go to wedding, you are sitting and watching and it’s kind of boring.”
Kirilenko said that the newlyweds performed a duet, singing a love song to each other while dancing. “Elena told me they practiced a lot. I was surprised she sang well.”
Unfortunately Dinara Safina has abandond tennis forever. Dinara has been suffering from a long term back injury and unfortunately she has been unable to overcome it.
Sadly Dinara was planning on playing the French Open and even tweeted about it only a few days ago.
Dinara you are going to be sorely missed!
She said: “I don’t know how long my time out is going to last. I don’t want to torture myself and my body anymore.
“I’m just tired of constant questions from my coach in training, ‘How is your back? Can you do this exercise?’.”
Safina added: ” I’m just tired of fighting with myself. At the moment I can’t do anything tennis-wise. When I can do certain moves without feeling lots of pain, then I would consider resuming my training.
“Right now I don’t care when I might return – this summer during the American hardcourt series, towards the end of the season or next year.
“I’ll take as much time as I need.”
Things have gone from bad to worst for Dinara Safina (ever since she became number 1 in the world). Safina was hammered by Marion Bartoli 6-0 6-1 at the Hobart International. Safina is trying to recover her form after a serious back injury.
Bartoli called Safina a “very tough opponent” in what she thought was a “really great match.”
Im a little tired of tennis players being nice to each other in press conferences. Safina just didnt turn up yet again! Why doesnt she spend longer on her recovery and less time on tour?
Dinara Safina has withdrawn from Wimbledon due to the lower back injury that has plagued her since November. Last year Safina reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and was set to be seeded 20th for this years Championships.
Safina’s seeded spot in the draw has been taken by Melanie Oudin, who made a dramatic run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals last year, and he main draw birth has been taken by Stephanie Dubois of Canada.
The story of yesterdays French Open has to be the great performance by Kimiko Date Krumm. The 39 year old Krumm as 1-4 down in the final set with a leg injury and somehow came back to beat Dinara Safina. She became the second-oldest woman to win a match at Roland Garros in the Open Era after Virginia Wade in 1985. Awesome.
She knew, as we all did watching, that her Russian foe was feeling the moment:
“I didn’t want to stop,” Date Krumm said. “My condition was very bad, but she was getting a little nervous, and she started making mistakes. So I tried many things, like drop shots and hitting wider, slower… and she kept making mistakes. I tried everything.”
Dinara is having a lot of problems with her game at the moment, and since her split with coach Zeljko Krajan her game can only get better. Im pretty sure it cant get any worse!
Dinara Safina has parted ways with her coach Zeljko Krajan, after a three year partnership. Krajan could remain on as Safina’s coach until the end of the French Open and after that she will begin work with Gaston Etlis.
Gaston is from Argentina and has played many years on tour with career high rankings of 17 in doubles and 114 in singles.
Krajan did an amazing job with Safina as she got to Number 1 in the world and played in in 3 Grand Slam finals and won the silver medal at the Olympics in Beijing.
This week sees the return of former WTA number1 Dinara Safina to competitive tennis. Dinara retired from her 4th round match at the Australian Open, sighting a back injury that has been plaguing her since Cincinnati.
“After that match, I had an MRI and I had two stress fractures on L5S1 and a rupture on the muscle,”
She has spent time convalescing in Croatia, working with her physio Tomislav Vrbnjak.
“He is really one of the best I’ve ever had in my life and he is really taking the best care of me,” Safina said.
She plays Agnes Szavay today at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, at around 8pm local time.
Former world number 1 Dinara Safina will not be returning to the WTA tour any time soon.
Safina has been off the competitive circuit since the 2010 Australian Open. She had severely injured her back during the 2009 summer season, but had continued to play up through the Australian Open, when she was forced to retire in the fourth round while playing against her countrywoman, Maria Kirilenko.
On Friday, Safina publicly revealed the extent of her injury in a blog entry on her official website.
“My injury from Australia was pretty bad and takes so long to heal. The problem is that I had it since Cincinnati last year, and since then had been playing all the time while on pain killers. My back was really bad there but I didn’t feel anything the rest of the season until my last match at the Australian Open. After that match, I had an MRI and I had two stress fractures on L5S1 and a rupture on the muscle. That was the worst news I could ever hear from a doctor, but now finally I’m recovering, though not as fast as I would prefer.”
Though her recovery has been slow, Safina has now resumed practicing. She has not announced a time frame for her return. Currently she is in Croatia working with her physio, Tomislav Vrbnjak. “He is really one of the best I’ve ever had in my life and he is really taking the best care of me.”
Serena Williams has certainly staked her claim at the top of the women’s’ game after reclaiming her No1 ranking from Dinara Safina after the 2009 US Open. The latter part of the season usually sees players drop their intensity and look forward to the prospect of a holiday. The Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha was more an exhibition of the consequences’ of over playing than a showcase of the best in women’s tennis.
Despite this, Serena Williams looked the freshest of the crop and came through some tough conditions with strapping on her thigh to win the singles. Elena Dementieva said after her 2-6 4-6 defeat, “She’s too good for me” Serena has accelerated her pace at the top of the women’s’ game, it’s reported, with the aid of Power Plate.
“On tour, playing back-to-back matches is tough on your body. Being ready the next day is the difference between winning or losing. If I can accelerate the recovery and healing process, I have a definite advantage. With my Power Plate®, I have that advantage,” Williams says.
Talk of Williams prowess at the Australian Open was accompanied by assurances that she will be around for a few years to come and I wonder if we will see her accelerate away from the rest of the field, or will they match the pace and keep up with her?
I have received an inside tip this morning that this will be the outfit that Dinara Safina will wear during the US Open 2009.
Robin Soderling (23) vs Nikolay Davydenko (10) = This is going to be a great match. Robin Soderling beat four time reigning champion Rafael Nadal in four sets in the previous round and Davydenko defeated Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. I think Robin will be still on a high from his last victory, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep it going. This could be a five set match with Soderling taking the first few sets then Davydenko coming back.
Andy Murray (3) vs Fernando Gonzalez (12) = Andy and Fernando have been in great for in this tournament so far and they both didnt lose a set in their fourth round matches. Murray has had quite an easy draw so far and I think Gonzalez might actually cause a big upset in this match.
Juan Martin Del Potro (5) vs Tommy Robredo (16) = Juan Martin Del Potro has been playing some great tennis and beating good opponents so far in the tournament. However, in this match he will coming up against Tommy Robredo who has a huge amount of experience on the clay courts of Roland Garros. I can see Robredo winning this match in a long five set match.
Gael Monfils (11) vs Roger Federer (2) = This is another exciting match with Roger on the back of coming from two sets to love down to win in five, while Monfils played one of his greatest matches at the French Open defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets. I think this will be Rogers match to lose.
Dinara Safina (1) vs Victoria Azarenka (9) = Azarenka had a great previous match disposing of the defending champion Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. While Safina hasn’t put a foot wrong and has been demolishing her opponents. I think the first set is going to be very tight and Azarenka really needs to win it, cause I cant see her coming back in three sets.
Dominika Cibulkova (20) vs Maria Sharapova = This is going to be a very interesting match, Maria hasnt been in the greatest of form but she has been grinding out wins. Cibulkova has been playing some good tennis, but hasnt really played a major name at this years French Open. I can see Maria winning in another three set match.
Sorana Cirstea vs Samantha Stosur (30) = Cirstea has had a great tournament so far, especially with her win in the last match at 9-7 in the third set over Jelena Jankovic. Stosur has been going through the draw very quietly. Clay is not Stosurs best surface but she has a great kick serve for a female player and I can see her demolishing Cirstea in straight sets.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (7) vs Serena Williams (2) = The girls have a great rivalry and have played some great matches over the years. I think Serena is in great form and the quick clay surface this year is suiting her game and I cant really see Kuznetsova getting into the match from the beginning.
Dinara Safina is now officially the womens world number one tennis player. On Monday Dinara Safina has now joined the group of world number one tennis players. Dinara and Marat as the only brother and sister combination to have every been both world number one.
Safina is still yet to win a Grand Slam title but she has twice reached the final. Dinara Safina is the 19th woman to top the rankings since they were introduced in 1975.
Safina won four titles last year, but lost to Serena Williams at the Australian Open this year, who she replaced as world number one.
It is good to see however that Dinara is still in search of more and more titles.
“He has two Grand Slams,” Safina said of her brother in a video posted on the WTA’s Web site. “He’s still much better than me, so I have to catch him.”
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has released the official 2008 season-ending tennis rankings.
Jelena Jankovic has ended the tennis year as the number one tennis player in the world, followed by Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, and Ana Ivanovic.
2007 POINTS DROPPED ON NOVEMBER 10: Madrid (SEC)
Top 20 Rankings (November 10, 2008)
1. Jelena Jankovic – Serbia – 4710
2. Serena Williams – United States – 3866
3. Dinara Safina – Russia – 3817
4. Elena Dementieva – Russia – 3663
5. Ana Ivanovic – Serbia – 3457
6. Venus Williams – United States – 3272
7. Vera Zvonareva – Russia – 2952
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Russia – 2726
9. Maria Sharapova – Russia – 2515
10. Agnieszka Radwanska – Poland – 2286
11. Nadia Petrova – Russia – 1976
12. Caroline Wozniacki – Denmark – 1678
13. Flavia Pennetta – Italy – 1670
14. Patty Schnyder – Switzerland – 1590
15. Victoria Azarenka – Belarus – 1494
16. Alize Cornet – France – 1492
17. Marion Bartoli – France – 1410
18. Anna Chakvetadze – Russia – 1363
19. Dominika Cibulkova – Slovakia – 1337
20. Katarina Srebotnik – Slovakia – 1272
SONY ERICSSON WTA TOUR RANKINGS
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings is the worldwide computer ranking for women’s professional tennis.
The ranking system is a 52-week, cumulative system in which the number of Tournament results that comprise a player’s ranking is capped at 17 Tournament results for Singles and 11 Tournament results for Doubles.
The results used to determine a player’s ranking are the Tournaments yielding the player’s highest Ranking points over the past 52 weeks.
With Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua already confirmed starters, tournament director Paul McNamee announced the Russian siblings Marat Safin and Dinara Safina would team up for the first time to form the second team in the tournament. McNamee also admitted he is chasing Djokovic to play the tournament, but there will be no Roger Federer or Raphael Nadal in Perth because they have already committed to other tournaments. Im really looking forward to seeing some new faces in the Perth teams event this year, instead of having most of the top players finding a few up and comers has to be on McNamee’s list.
