Tennis Betting - Famous Players
Dinara Safina
| Full Name: Dinara Mikhailovna Safina Date of birth: April 27th, 1986 WTA Current Ranking: 3rd Nationality: Russian Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco; Moscow, Russia Game Style: Right-handed; two-handed backhand Career Titles: Singles: 11 WTA, 4 ITF Doubles: 8 WTA, 3 ITF Career Prize Money: US$ 8,283,046 WTA Tour Titles: Grand Slams: 0 Premier: 2 • Madrid, Spain, 2009 • Rome, Italy, 2009 Tier I: 3 • Berlin, Germany 2008 • Montreal, Canada 2008 • Tokyo, Japan 2008 Tier II: 2 • Paris, France 2005 • Los Angeles, US 2008 Tier III: 2 • Sopot, Poland 2002 • Gold Coast, Australia 2007 Tier IV: 2 • Palermo, Italy 2003 • Prague, Czech Republic 2005 |
Dinara Safina is a Russian tennis player and the younger sister of former world No.1 Marat Safin. Dinara is known for her high intensity and great power in each game. These characteristics have made her one of the most athletic tennis players in the circuit. Although, this is a positive trait in her game, the degree of excitement that she develops in each match led her to commit a lot of unforced errors.
Safina began her professional career in 2001, but her most remarkable participation in a WTA tournament was in 2002, at Estoril, where she reached the semifinals.
She got her first title in Sopot, after Henrieta Nagyova retired in the second set of the final game. With this triumph she could enter the top 100 of the WTA rankings. In her debut in the U.S. Open, she reached the second round after losing against Serena Williams. Safina closed 2002 as world No.68.
In 2003, at the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo, Dinara obtained the second victory of her career after beating Katarina Srebotnik. In the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon she did not have the same luck: in the three tournaments she was eliminated during the first round. In the U.S. Open of 2003 she performed with much graters success. This time she reached the fourth round and finished as world No.54 in the WTA at the end of the season.
In the 2004 Australian Open, Safina advanced to the third round but Kim Clijsters eliminated her. She did not excel in the other Grand Slams. In the French Open she was left out in the second round, while at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open she did not make it pass the first round.
At the end of the season, she was the runner-up in Luxembourg. This last achievement pushed her into the Top-50 of the WTA rankings.
In 2005, Dinara Safina focused on working her way up the rankings. She did not start strong, losing to Amelie Mauresmo in the first round of the Australian Open. Later on the season she came back with a little payback and won her third title in Paris after defeating Mauresmo in the final.
In Prague, Safina won her second title of the season by defeating Zuzana Ondraskova in the final. However, in the French Open she lost against Virginie Razzano in the first round. At Wimbledon she fell in the third round against Lindsay Davenport. In the U.S. Open she could not surpass the first round.
In the Fed Cup, together with Elena Dementieva, she made an outstanding performance that served her to obtain the victory for Russia in doubles.
In the 2006 Australian Open, Safina lost in the second round against Sofia Arvidsson. In the French Open and in the U.S. Open she reached the quarter-finals, while at Wimbledon she reached the third round.
In the Brisbane International, Dinara won her first title of 2007, in both singles and doubles. Her participation in the Australian Open ended in the third round, when she was eliminated by China's Li Na.
In the French Open, it was Serena Williams who knocked her out in the fourth round. At Wimbledon she didn’t pass the second round and in the U.S. Open she was eliminated in the fourth round, in the hands of Justine Henin. In this last tournament, she won the doubles title with Nathalie Dechy. Dinara Safina ended 2007 as world No.16 of the WTA rankings.
Dinara Safina had a regular start in the 2008 season after winning only 11 of her first 21 games. Later, she recovered and won the doubles titles in the 2008 Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts and the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.
Her first Tier I title was won in May 2008, after defeating Elena Dementieva in the final of the WTA German Open. Then, in the French Open, Safina surprised everyone by reaching the final, where she was beat by Ana Ivanović. This result placed Safina as world No.9.
At Wimbledon she reached the third round, where she faced Shahar Pe'er, who eliminated her 7-5, 6-7, 8-6.
In July 2008, at the East West Bank Classic, Dinara earned her second win of the season after defeating Flavia Pennetta in the final. Then, in the Rogers Cup at Montreal, she won a Tier I title. These results set her up as the world No. 6th. To top-off a good season she won the U.S. Open Series.
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics she won the silver medal. After reaching the semifinals at the U.S. Open, Dinara Safina ascended to the fifth place of the WTA rankings.
In September 2008, at the Yoray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Safina won her third Tier I title of the year, closing the year as world No. 3.
Safina began the 2009 with a victory in doubles, in conjunction with her brother Marat Safin at the Hopman Cup. In the Australian Open, she was the runner-up after losing in the final against Serena Williams.
After passing through the Mandatory Premier Indian Wells, where she reached the quarterfinals, Dinara Safina was named the world No. 1 player of the WTA rankings.
Determined to win a Grand Slam, Safina played outstandingly in the French Open, where she reached the final but was beaten by Kuznetsova. At Wimbledon, she also worked hard but lost in the semifinals against Venus Williams.
At the U.S. Open, she came as the favorite to win the title, but Kvitová Petra cut her illusions in the third round. Subsequently, in the 2009 China Open, Safina lost the No. 1 spot after losing against Serena Williams. She tried to recover the top spot in the Miami Masters, but due to a back injury, she had to retire during the first round.
In 2010, she lost against Elena Dementieva in the Medibank International at Sydney. In the Australian Open, she had back problems again, so she had to retire during the fourth round. She also had to withdraw from the tournaments in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. Because of these irregular performances, she descended to the third place of the WTA rankings.