The Tennis Times » dinara safina

Dinara Safina Withdraws from Wimbledon

The Insider — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:27:56 +0000

Dinara Safina has withdrawn from Wimbledon due to the lower back injury that has plagued her since November.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.

Kimiko Date Krumm Turns Back The Years to Kill Off Dinara Safina

The Insider — Wed, 26 May 2010 08:56:04 +0000

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!

Dinar Safina Parts Ways with Coach Zeljko Krajan

The Insider — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:34:24 +0000

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.

Dinara’s Back!

Marie-Paule Graham — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:06:56 +0000

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.

Dinara Safina Will Not Return to WTA Tour Any Time Soon

The Insider — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:15:16 +0000

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.”

Enhanced Performance

Marie-Paule Graham — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:33:57 +0000

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?

Dinara Safina’s Outfit for US Open and Fall 2009

The Insider — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:30:12 +0000

I have received an inside tip this morning that this will be the outfit that Dinara Safina will wear during the US Open 2009.

Roland Garros 2009 – From Choker to Champion

Spencer — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:51:06 +0000

Svetlana Kuznetsova’s 6-4 6-2 drubbing of a tight Dinara Safina in the French Open final served as a particularly unfitting conclusion to what was one of the most enjoyable majors in recent years. Coming back from a relatively bland 2008 edition, where the story of choice was who wasn’t playing, the 2009 event was at times inspiring, at many times absurd, and always compelling. The drama began almost immediately as both Venus and Serena Williams, usually on cruise control through the first few rounds, were taken to three sets by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Klara Zakopalova, respectively. Even when we think they’ve drawn a tough first round opponent, they will often get through dropping less than five games. That was when the alarm bells started to go off: this one would be different.

And so it was, as seed after seed began to fall. This is always a tough situation for women’s tennis because, if the seeds all get through, then it is criticized for not having enough depth, but if the seeds lose, then it is criticized for not having enough dominance at the top. This time, when the seeds lost, it was because the opponent played exceptionally well. Victoria Azarenka completely outplayed Ana Ivanovic to eliminate her in the fourth round, and Agnes Szavay played tennis she hasn’t shown since 2007 to defeat Venus Williams easily. Sorana Cirstea finally showed what the tennis world knew she possessed as she outlasted Jelena Jankovic in an epic 9-7 in the third, and Sam Stosur served like a top-10 player to eliminate Dementieva. All of this was in direct contrast to this year’s Australian Open, where Ivanovic collapsed against Kleybanova and Jankovic barely showed up against Bartoli. This time, the underdog had to win it. Basically, the only seed who wasn’t challenged early on was Dinara Safina, who took advantage of a light draw to sprint into the second week.

Ultimately, the two biggest news items of the first week had little to do with anyone’s play. The first story was Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who was hit with a ball by Serena Williams, but refused to acknowledge it to the chair umpire. Martinez Sanchez should have lost the point, but she won it, which sparked a press conference war of words with Williams accusing and Martinez Sanchez denying. Williams went on to win that match, so there was at least some sense of justice. When people went discussing whether Martinez Sanchez cheated, they were all aflutter about the screeching grunt of Michelle Larcher de Brito. Larcher de Brito has been touted for years as the next big thing, and she had a mini-breakthough here, making the third round in her first major main draw. More than her promising play, she is known for her grunt, which is by far the loudest on tour. Her third round opponent Aravane Rezai had quite a problem with it, complaining to the chair and again in the press conference. Once again the voyeuristic press was more than happy to latch on to this relative non-story. The furor will likely cause the tour to once again revisit the question of how loud is too loud.

Back in the tennis, the Quarterfinal lineup was a delightful mix of the expected (Safina, S. Williams) and the completely surprising (Stosur, Cirstea, Cibulkova). Joining those women was Maria Sharapova, which could not have been too surprising as she came into this tournament as a complete question mark. With little match play, no one knew whether she was heading for a first round exit or for the title. The match of the tournament took place in this round as Svetlana Kuznetsova finally put it together when she needed to and eliminated Serena Williams. Kuznetsova went up a set and 5-3, just as she did in Australia against Williams, and just as she has done so many times in her career. And so, it came as a shock to absolutely no one that she blew the 5-3 lead and Williams went on to win the second set. The Svetlana Kuznetsova of October 2004-May 2009 would have collapsed at this point. maybe mustering a couple of games in the third set as she went out with a whimper. This time she fought and ultimately won 7-5 in a thrilling third set. Since winning the 2004 US Open, Kuznetsova hasn’t been that player. She hasn’t been the one who is able to fight off bad games and blown leads. She hasn’t been a champion.

This week, she was. She went on to face a resurgent Sam Stosur in the Semifinals. Sam missed a year of her career, out with viral meningitis and Lyme disease, so to make it to a major Semifinal on her worst surface was an amazing accomplishment. Stosur acquitted herself quite well in this match, coming back from a deficit in the second set to level the match. Kuznetsova had the chance to blow it again, giving up a second set lead and going to the third, but the Williams match changed something. Her body language was better, but more importantly, her shotmaking improved. She wasn’t going for insane crosscourt forehands like she used to. She played patient, composed, and mature points to win the third. In the final, she would meet Dinara Safina, who eliminated Cibulkova in the other Semifinal.

This match was Safina’s to take. She was the pre-tournament favorite, world #1, dominant performer of the clay season, but the pressure was too much. As she watched her opponent crumble and make uncharacteristic errors, Kuznetsova had clearly changed from uncertain challenger to confidant winner, from choker to champion. In a tournament that was full of stimulating three set matches, the routine two-set final seemed to be a bit of a letdown. Everyone wanted there to be another three set epic, but in the spirit of this tournament, where Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sam Stosur, Dominika Cibulkova, Michelle Larcher De Brito, Maria Sharapova, Agnes Szavay, Victoria Azarenka, and Sorana Cirstea taught us to expect the unexpected, maybe it was better this way.

Mens and Womens French Open 2009 Quarterfinal Draws

The Insider — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:42:46 +0000

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 Replaces Serena Williams as World Number One

The Insider — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:09:29 +0000

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 Tennis Times » dinara safina

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