Time to Say Goodbye: Battling Safina Exits the Battlefield

Long known as Marat Safin's little sister, ambitious Dinara started to make a name for herself in 2008 when she stunned a few of the world's best to claim the title in Berlin. Amongst her victims were none others than the world No.1 and undisputed queen of clay, Justine Henin—who would go on and shock the world by announcing her first retirement after that match—her soon-to-become biggest rival, American Serena Williams, Vika Azarenka, respectively Elena Dementieva, in the final. 

That week saw the birth of Dinara Safina, one of the game's biggest hitters. Nothing was the same after Berlin. It was like Dinara was a completely different player. She carried on the huge momentum into the French Open, beating her more famous compatriots, Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, and Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach her first Grand Slam final. Nerves took their toll and the Russian ended up succumbing to the inspired Ana Ivanovic who won in straight sets.
Safina remained focus on the positives and the great performances kept pilling up, as she won titles in Los Angeles, Montreal, and Tokyo. She also won the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, losing a tough battle against Dementieva. That was probably the time she got labelled as a bit of a mental wreak, the Russian lacking the strength to conquer the really important trophies. Her quick dismissal at the hands of Serena Williams in the 2009 Australian Open final didn't do much for her reputation—especially as she won just three games on that occasion.

Safina really caught fire in the spring of 2009. After losing to Kuznetsova in the Stuttgart final, the Russian would go on a 17-match winning streak that saw her collect titles in Rome and Madrid, reach the world No.1 on April 20th, and make her second consecutive final at the French Open. With Serena Williams out of the way, Dinara looked poised to grab the elusive Slam. But for the first time in such an important final she was the big favourite and that really worked against her. Her weak mental strength surfaced once more and she ended up almost gifting the trophy to Svetlana Kuznetsova. This defeat was, I believe, the beginning of the end for Safina. 

Hindered by injuries, the Russian slowly drifted away from the top of the rankings. The remainder of 2009 was pretty miserable, the only highlights being the semifinal at Wimbledon, the final in Cincinnati, and the title in Portoroz—which would be the 12th and last trophy of her short-lived career.

Battling a recurring back injury, Dinara was just a shadow of herself throughout 2010. Early exits and extensive recovery breaks pretty much sum up the season. She came back in 2011 and tried to give it one more try, but her ailing body had the final say. After an early exit in Madrid, the Russian decided to take an indefinite break. In October that year, Marat announced that his sister would not be returning to the tour. After years of silence, Safina made the official announcement this month, She was honored at the Mutua Madrid Open, a tournament she won on its first edition.

Although her career was short-lived, Dinara Safina will always be remembered for her stellar achievements. She emerged from his brother's shadow to become the best player in the world. Although she did not win a Grand Slam in singles, she is amongst the very select few who held the No.1 spot. Thank you, Dinara for all the great lessons you'd taught us and the best of luck going forward! It's always sad to part ways, but I am sure this is not the last we've heard from this ambitious lady.

A look back at Dinara's golden career

Before establishing herself as a singles player, Dinara Safina was a veritable doubles expert. In 2007, she teamed up with Nathalie Dechy to claim her sole Grand Slam title at the US Open.

Berlin 2008 witnessed the birth of Dinara Safina. The Russian beat Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Elena Dementieva to claim the most important title of her career.

Keeping up the stunning form, Safina bruised aside her more famous compatriots, Sharapova, Dementieva, and Kuznetsova to reach her maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open. She lost to Ana Ivanovic.

She continued to pill up great results during the summer. In Los Angeles, she beat Italian Flavia Pennetta for the title.

She bagged a second consecutive title, dismissing Dominika Cibulkova in Montreal.

The winning streak came to an end in the Olympic final, her compatriot, Elena Dementieva, winning the gold medal after a dramatic battle.

The fourth and final title of what has been an amazing breakthrough season came in Tokyo where she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.

In 2009, Dinara teamed up with brother Marat to reach the final of the Hopman Cup. They lost the championship battle to Slovaks Dominika Cibulkova and Dominik Hrbaty.

Her nerves once again prevented her from playing her best tennis in the 2009 Australian Open final. She would win just three games against her nemesis, American Serena Williams.

A week after losing to Kuznetsova in the Stuttgart final, Dinara got her revenge. She dismissed her compatriot in the Rome final to claim her first title of the season.

She carried on the winning streak to Madrid where she defeated Dane Caroline Wozniacki for the title. 

The 2009 Roland Garros was Safina's chance to slap the critics and claim the elusive Grand Slam title. Riding on a 17-match winning streak, the Russian once again fell victim to her nerves and ended up losing the final to Kuznetsova.

Dinara knew she'd hit rock bottom when she lost to a player twice her age in the first round at the 2010 French Open. Although she won the first set, she had no answer to Kimiko Date's inspired play. 

Determined to battle injury and recapture her place amongst the elite, the Russian was cruelly humiliated by Kim Clijsters who double-bagelled her in the first round of the 2011 Australian Open. A few months later, Dinara hang up her racquet.

After years of being sidelined by a nasty back injury, the Russian announced her official retirement from professional tennis. The ceremony took place at the Mutua Madrid Open, a tournament she won on its first edition.

photos: GETTY IMAGES

In My Sister's Shoes

A rather odd thing happened last week, as Marat Safin announced the retirement of his younger sister who is sidelined by persistent back problems. The Russian former number 1 is currently taking time off, trying to recover from an injury that is threatening to end her proffesional career. As strange as the fact that Dinara let her brother do the talking might have seemed, what stroke most was that she posted an official statement contradicting Marat and making it clear that she is not retiring.

It's pretty unfortunate how things have unfolded for her. Her star was shining brightly in 2009. She fough her way to the top of the ranking, she was playing great tennis and, although she lost three Grand Slam finals, it seemed only a matter of time before she would grab that ultimate success. As Simon Reed pointed out, there weren't many players with Safina's desire and ambition. She longed for a Grand Slam trophy so badly, that it started working against her. On those big occasions though, her nerves got the better of her and she blew all her chances. It was the defeat to Kuznetsova in the 2009 Roland Garros final that led to a mental breakdown. Her game completely fell apart after that, her ranking dropped and after months of struggling to cope with an ailing back, she finally decided she cannot continue like this.

Not that she was a joyful person to start with, but lost all glimpses of joy on the court. Watching her play was like seeing a terrifying Hollywood drama in which although the leading character is pouring her heart into completing the task, you know she will probably not last until the end. "If you live with this pain for a year and a half, it's not fun anymore. Whenever I start to think I'm going to have this back pain again, it's just frustrating. So for me, I just want to have a normal life", she admitted  in a recent interview.

We don't know what led to this miscommunication between the two siblings, but Safina is rock solid on her position. When asked how long she plans to continue playing on the WTA Tour, she was quick in replying: "Until I die".

It seems that the Russian's stubborness surfaced once more. Judging by how much she wants that elusive Grand Slam title, it's clear that she has no plans of giving it up. "I will continue to use therapy to try to treat my back injury and hope to return to competition eventually." Hope everything works out in the end for her, as she is epitome of a fighter who would go through Hell to see her dream come true.

photo: GETTY IMAGES