The Determination of Dinara Safina

Taking some time off and falling down the rankings is the best thing that has happened to Dinara Safina in a long time.

She's not a US Open contender. I'm not even going to begin to claim that. But now, in her post-Zeljko days, in the slow comeback crawl, I'm getting the feeling that Dinara is starting to put a few pieces together. It's only one match, but do you think the Dinara of three months ago would have been able to tough out Nadia Petrova 6-4 in the third set? No, I didn't think so either.

I don't want to make mountains out of molehills, but you kind of have to when it comes to Dinara. What I really want to see make a comeback, because it's what got her to #1 in the first place, is that you-have-to-shoot-me-to-win mentality. That's the mentality that got her past Sharapova and Dementieva at the French Open in 2008 and shot her into the final. It was what she had in the early days with Zeljko - fire and vim and determination - and what she hasn't had in a while now.

I was sad when she and Zeljko broke up. But now, in the aftermath of that destructive, apocalyptic relationship, I can definitely see that it was best. Dinara's finding herself again. She's finding the good. Or at least she did in this one match. She dug in her heels and didn't give in and toughed it out and from where I stand, that is nothing but a positive sign from her. Determination is key.

Time Off, Time Out, Time to Change

So Dinara Safina is out of Brisbane and in doubt for Melbourne. She's got an injured back which she obviously needs to rehabilitate. This is sad.

This is also bad, as she has finalist points to defend at the Aussie and will thus go tumbling down the rankings. The season will start and go on without her, and who knows when she'll get back in?

But you know what? Even though it will obviously be an epic fail for her to miss the beginning of the season and lose all those points, effectively meaning she'll have to start from scratch-ish (not quite Square One, but a few squares lower), I think it might be good for her to take some time out. This whole being on tour thing is obviously doing her head in, and it can't help any when you've got a bunch of people dancing around a bonfire going 'Dinara Safina is the worst #1 eveeeeeeeer!'

This will give her more time to recuperate physically and prepare herself mentally for another assault on the upper echelons of women's tennis. She knows what to expect now. She knows how tough it is, and how people talk and judge and whatnot. A little time away from that eye could be very good for Dinara. I just hope Zeljko isn't shouting at her too much in the meantime...

And you know what? Maybe this back injury will force her to do what people have been telling to do all year and fix her serve. Or even if the back injury doesn't come into play in this arena, this will give her more time to work on it with Zeljko. Because if she is going to make another assault along the lines of the one she made in mid-2008, the serve is where it has to start.

So rest up, Dinara. Rest, recuperate and get better. I may be the last person in the world clinging to your bandwagon, but I'm still clinging to it. And I'm sure that, when you come back, you will be in a position to give us great things.

Meltdown

Oh, Dinara.

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I think it was sort of the story of the match the way that Dinara lost - on a double fault. For the third Slam final in a row, she just didn't turn up to play. I feel so sorry for her, but... oh, honestly, Dinara. Dinara, Dinara, Dinara.

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You know what she needs to do? Play a few of the lesser tournaments around where on-court coaching is around and about without using it. When she comes to the Slams, she has to play sans Zeljko, who helps her so much outside these tournaments. She needs to stop relying on him. She needs to let go. I'm not suggesting she fire him as her coach or anything, because they're an excellent partnership, but she needs to stop relying on him so much. She was looking up at him so much during the match. And there was nothing he could do. This one was all on Dinara. This meltdown belonged to her alone.

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Actually, I'll tell you what Zeljko can do - work on Dinara's goddamn serve. That ball toss is just cumbersome, and it's doing her no favours at all. But where was Dinara's determination? It wasn't there today. Poor girl. This must hurt.

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But the day belongs to the victor, and Svetlana Kuznetsova played a wonderful match. I was pulling for Dinara, but I cannot pretend to be sad Sveta won. She's a great player and a great champion and she deserved this to no end. You've sort of had the sense that another major was coming for Sveta ever since that maiden Slam in '04 at the US Open - she's too good to be a one Slam wonder. And she just played wonderfully today. She has an all court game which is lovely to watch, and she kept her head together marvellously today.

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Well done, Svetlana. You deserve this one.

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And Dinara? Wimbledon, sister. I know you can do it. Let's make it happen.

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Today's Results

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French Open (Roland Garros)

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Women's Draw

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Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Dinara Safina, 6-4 6-2