Comments on: Dinara Safina Makes Her Mark as Russians Continue to Dominate Tennis

By: 2008 Women Tennis Players to Watch » Tennisinfoblog

2008 Women Tennis Players to Watch » Tennisinfoblog — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:17:12 +0000

[...] Dinara Safina (yes, Marat’s little sister) by Journalist Paula Vergara [...]

By: Aaress

Aaress — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:48:19 +0000

PaulaV,

Thanks for writing a great article – it is always a pleasure to read your work.

Good mention of Dinara’s illness, which as I recall, affected her quite a bit last year. Unfortunately, like you said, this is something that she may have to live the rest of her life with, but judging from her results at the end of 2007, she still has a bright future on the Tour.

Kurt, I agree that Safina does struggle with her head game, but I don’t believe she’s quite as bad as Marat! However, to borrow a term from Mary Joe Fernandez, she is a pretty “streaky” player.

If she can bring some consistency to her performance and work on crafting a solid weapon to help her battle the likes of Justine, Maria, Venus, Serena, and Co., I think she has a shot at returning to the top 10 in 2008.

I’m not convinced she’s top 5 material, but she does have the potential to give quite a few women fits, especially on clay.

By: PaulaV

PaulaV — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:34:46 +0000

Thanks for the feedback! I do agree that doubles is Safina’s strength, but I am hopeful that she will be able to overcome her mental challenges to take her game to the next level. I know that she had suffered from medical fatigue syndrome in 2006. This must be something that she has to be constantly aware of, in terms of getting proper rest and following a healthy diet.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:03:48 +0000

Interesting article. However, I agree with Jen when assessing Safina. She started the year off great, but just sort of lost her way. Like her brother, she’s so fragile mentally that she gets in her own way, and she doesn’t really have a monstrous weapon. She’ll have great days, but she seems to have more bad ones. Doubles is great for her because there’s someone else there to talk out her frustrations, to help her refocus. I think that’s the area where she’ll excel the most.

By: John Byron

John Byron — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:30:36 +0000

Great article! It will be interesting to track the progress of her career..I wonder if she has what it takes to get to the top 3 someday…

By: Jen Whittier

Jen Whittier — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:14:07 +0000

Thanks for the good article, but I see Safina a bit differently. Her current #15 ranking represents her third consecutive year finishing between #11 and #20. Why is a singles breakout likely at this point? Dinara turns 22 in April. After her nice win in her first tournament of 2008, she reached but one other final. On the other hand, her U.S. Open doubles crown — and six-foot height — suggests excellent promise in that area. Thanks again.

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By: Introducing On the Baseline’s 2008 Players to Watch Series - On the Baseline Tennis News

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:19:27 +0000

[...] Dinara Safina Makes Her Mark as Russians Continue to Dominate One of a half dozen Russians in the top 15, Dinara Safina enjoyed a solid season in 2007. Journalist Paula Vergara examines the twenty-one year old’s recent achievements in both singles and doubles. [...]