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.”

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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.”

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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?

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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.

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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!

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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.

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“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.

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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.”

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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?

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