Dinara Mikhailovna Safina (Tatar: Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина, Dinara Möbin qızı Safina; Russian: Дина́ра Миха́йловна (Муби́новна) Са́фина, born April 27, 1986 in Moscow) is a Russian professional tennis player and the current World No. 1.She has been the runner-up in three Grand Slam singles tournaments and won the women's doubles title at the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. She also won the Olympic silver medal in women's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Her most recent achievement is runner-up in the 2009 French Open.
She is the younger sister of former World No. 1 men's player Marat Safin. She and her brother are the first brother-sister tandem in tennis history to both achieve #1 rankings.
Safina was born in Moscow, Russia to Tatar parents. Her mother, tennis coach Rauza Islanova, was her trainer when she was younger. Safina's father is director of the Spartak tennis club in Moscow. At age 8 Safina and her family moved to Valencia, Spain and as a result Safina speaks fluent Spanish as well as Russian and English.
Previously, Safina was coached by Glen Schaap, former trainer of Nadia Petrova. Her current coach is Željko Krajan. She trains in Varazdin, Croatia
Safina made her debut in the main draw of a WTA Tour tournament in May 2002, on clay at the Estoril Open in Estoril, Portugal. She defeated third seed Martina Sucha in the first round of that tournament before going on to lose in the semifinals. She won her first title of her career in Sopot, Poland, defeating two seeds – including World No. 24 Patty Schnyder - en route to the final, which she won when opponent Henrieta Nagyova retired during the second set. In doing so, she became the youngest Tour champion in four years and the first qualifier to win a title in three years. She entered the top 100 on the world rankings as a result of this win. Later that year, Safina made her debut at a Grand Slam, losing in the second round of the US Open to top seed and eventual champion Serena Williams 6–0, 6–1. In October, at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, she defeated a top 20 player for the first time, World No. 14 Silvia Farina Elia. She finished the season as World No. 68.
Safina won her second title over Katarina Srebotnik at the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo in Palermo, Italy in July 2003. She lost in the first round in her debuts at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, although she reached the fourth round at the US Open before losing to second seed and eventual champion Justine Henin. She also made the quarterfinals in Doha, Qatar, Sopot and Shanghai. She beat World No. 11 and defending champion Magdalena Maleeva in Moscow. She finished the season as World No. 54.
At the 2004 Australian Open, Safina defeated a seed at a Grand Slam for the first time, upsetting 27th seed Amanda Coetzer in the second round before losing to second seed Kim Clijsters in the third round. However, she failed to make an impact at any of the other Grand Slams, losing in the second round of the French Open and the first round of both Wimbledon and the US Open, although she pushed eventual runner-up Elena Dementieva to three sets in the latter. She made the third final of her career and first off of clay in October at the Fortis Championships Luxembourg, losing to Alicia Molik. She finished the season as World No. 44, her first time finishing in the world's top 50.
Safina continued to climb the rankings in 2005. At the Australian Open, she lost in the second round to second seed Amelie Mauresmo. However, she defeated Mauresmo in the final of the Open Gaz de France in Paris three weeks later, in order to win the third title of her career. This marked her first win over a player ranked in the top 10, and it allowed Safina to enter the top 40 for the first time.
Safina won her second title of 2005 in May on clay at the ECM Prague Open in Prague, Czech Republic, defeating Zuzana Ondrášková in the final. However, she then lost in the first round of the French Open to Virginie Razzano. She won a match at Wimbledon for the first time, eventually losing in the third round to top seed Lindsay Davenport.
After losing in the first round of the US Open to Maria Elena Camerin, Safina made three semifinals in the fall - at the Fortis Championships Luxembourg, the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow and the Gaz de France Stars in Hasselt, Belgium. In Moscow, she defeated World No. 1 Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals 1–6, 6–4, 7–5 before losing to Mary Pierce. She also played a key role in Russia's victory against France in the Fed Cup, parterning Elena Dementieva to win the doubles rubber. Safina finished the year ranked World No. 20, by far her highest finish.
Safina started 2006 by losing in the second round of the Australian Open to Sofia Arvidsson. The highlight of the remainder of the spring hardcourt season was a run to the quarterfinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, defeating fifth seed Anastasia Myskina before losing to former World No. 1 Martina Hingis. On clay, Safina reached her first final at a Tier I tournament at the Italian Open, defeating top 10 players Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, before being beaten by Hingis 6–2, 7–5.
At the French Open, Safina made the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. In the fourth round, she beat fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova 7–5, 2–6, 7–5. In the third set, she trailed 1–5 and was down a match point but won after almost 2½ hours of play. She went on to lose to Kuznetsova in the next round. To kick off the grass court season, following her strong performance on clay, she reached her first grass court final at the Ordina Open, losing to Michaella Krajicek 6–3, 6–4. She then lost in the third round of Wimbledon, losing to Ana Ivanovic.
The highlight of Safina's summer hardcourt season was a run to the semifinals of the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, before ultimately losing to Ivanovic. During the US Open, she again reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal, this time losing to top seed Amélie Mauresmo. She met with greater success in doubles, where she reached the final with partner Katarina Srebotnik. Safina reached the top ten on the singles rankings for the first time in the fall. She finished the season just outside it, at World No. 11.
Safina won her first tournament of 2007, the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast, Australia, defeating Martina Hingis in the final. She also won the doubles title at the tournament, partnering Katarina Srebotnik. She then lost in the third round of the Australian Open to Li Na 6–2 6–2.
Safina reached her second final of the year at the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, USA in April, after retirements from Tatiana Golovin and Vera Zvonareva in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. In the final, she lost to Jelena Jankovic 6–2, 6–2. After reaching the quarterfinals at both the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Safina lost to Serena Williams 6–2, 6–3 in the fourth round of the French Open. During May, she moved up to World No. 9, the highest ranking of her career at the time.
On grass, Safina lost in three sets to Jankovic in the semifinal of the Ordina Open in s'-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(6), having had a match point in the tiebreaker. Following that loss, she was upset by Akiko Morigami in the second round of Wimbledon.
Safina lost in the fourth round of the US Open to World No. 1 and eventual champion Justine Henin. At the tournament, she partnered Nathalie Dechy to win the women's doubles title, her first Grand Slam title. In October, Safina achieved only her second win over a player ranked in the top 10 that season, defeating World No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze en route to the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, where she eventually lost to eventual champion Elena Dementieva. She finished the season as World No. 16.
In 2008, Safina won 11 of her first 21 matches. Her best result in singles play during this period was a run to the quarterfinals of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, defeating former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the fourth round before losing to Vera Zvonareva. Meanwhile, she won doubles titles at the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast, Australia, partnering Agnes Szavay, and at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, partnering Elena Vesnina.
In May, at the clay-court Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Safina defeated World No. 1 Justine Henin in the third round 5–7, 6–3, 6–1, having never beaten Henin before. This would prove to be Henin's final match before her retirement the following week. Safina went on to defeat Serena Williams for the first time in the quarterfinals 2–6, 6–1, 7–6(5), ending Williams's 17-match winning streak. Safina then defeated Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals and Elena Dementieva in the final to win the first Tier I title of her career.
As the 13th seed at the French Open, Safina defeated new World No. 1 Maria Sharapova 6–7(6), 7–6(5), 6–2, having saved a match point at 5–3 down in the second set. In the quarterfinals, Safina defeated Dementieva 4–6, 7–6(5), 6–0, after again saving match points at 5–2 down in the second set. Then, in her first Grand Slam semifinal, Safina defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–3, 6–2, before being defeated by Ana Ivanovic in the final. Her results at this tournament caused her ranking to rise to World No. 9.
On grass, Safina lost in the final of the Ordina Open in Hertogenbosch, Netherlands to Tamarine Tanasugarn. Seeded ninth at Wimbledon, Safina lost in the third round to Israeli Shahar Pe'er 7–5, 6–7, 8–6 in 3 hours, 25 minutes. Safina had saved a match point in the second set and served for the match in the third set at 5–4 but was broken. She then lost the match on a double fault.
At the East West Bank Classic in Carson, California in July, Safina defeated top-seeded Jelena Janković in the semifinals before claiming her second title of the year by defeating Flavia Pennetta in the final. The following week, Safina won the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, defeating Dominika Cibulkova in the final. This marked the first time in her career that she had won titles at back-to-back tournaments, and it moved her up to World No. 6, her highest career ranking at the time. She also won the US Open Series as a result of this victory.[3]
Representing Russia at the Beijing Olympics, Safina defeated World No. 1 Jankovic in the quarterfinals in three sets, making her the first player in the history of the WTA Tour to defeat three different reigning World No. 1 players in the same year.[4] In the semifinals, she defeated Li Na in straight sets. In the gold medal match, Safina lost to Dementieva in three sets. Safina served 17 double faults and committed 54 unforced errors en route to her loss.[5] She went into the US Open as the sixth seed and was one of five women who could have taken the World No. 1 ranking, depending on their results in this tournament. However, she lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion Serena Williams, 6–3, 6–2. After this tournament, her ranking rose to a career high of World No. 5.
Safina won her third Tier I title of the year and fourth title overall at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September, defeating Kuznetsova in the final. This win moved her ranking to a new career-high of World No. 3, before later briefly becoming the World No. 2 in October. She qualified for the year-ending 2008 WTA Tour Championships - Singles in Doha, Qatar for the first time in her career, but she lost all three of her round robin matches, to Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Dementieva. She finished the year ranked World No. 3, the first time she had finished a year in the world's top 10. She was one of only three women to win four titles, the others being Jankovic and Serena Williams, and was the only woman to win three Tier I titles.
Safina began the year by representing Russia with her brother Marat Safin in the Hopman Cup in Perth. She defeated her first three opponents before losing in the final to Slovak Dominika Cibulková 6–7, 6–1, 6–4.
Safina was seeded second at her first official tournament of the year, the Medibank International in Sydney, where she lost in the final to compatriot and third-seed Elena Dementieva. At the Australian Open, the third-seeded Safina defeated Alize Cornet in the fourth round 6–2, 2–6, 7–5 after having been down 5–2 and facing two match points in the third set.[6] Safina defeated the Australian wild card entry Jelena Dokic in the quarterfinals and Vera Zvonareva in the semifinals to reach the second Grand Slam final of her career. She lost to Serena Williams in the final in 59 minutes. Had Safina won the tournament, she would have assumed the World No. 1 ranking.[7]
At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, a Premier 5 event on the tour, Safina lost in the second round to eventual finalist Virginie Razzano 6–4, 6–2 after receiving a bye in the first round. Although she was seeded first at the Premier Mandatory BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Safina made 56 unforced errors[8] while losing in the quarterfinals to eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6–7(4), 6–1, 6–3. Safina would have replaced Serena Williams as the World No. 1 player had Safina reached the final of this tournament.[8] At the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Safina lost in the third round to Australia's Samantha Stosur 6–1, 6–4.
On April 20, Safina became the 19th player, and second Russian after Maria Sharapova, to be ranked World No. 1 by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Safina and her brother Marat Safin are the first ever brother-sister World No. 1 pair, with Safin having been ranked World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals earlier in his career.[9]
Playing in her first tournament as the World No. 1 in late April, Safina lost in the final of the indoor clay court Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart to Svetlana Kuznetsova. The following week at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, a Premier 5 event, Safina defeated Venus Williams in the semifinals 6–7(3), 6–3, 6–4 and Kuznetsova in the final. She was the first Russian to win this tournament. Safina then advanced to the final at the inaugural Premier Mandatory Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she defeated Caroline Wozniacki to win her second consecutive title in two weeks. As the top seed at the French Open, Safina dropped just five games in advancing to the quarterfinals. There, she beat Azarenka in three sets and Dominika Cibulková in the semifinals 6–3, 6–3 to reach her third Grand Slam final, where she lost to Kuznetsova in straight sets.
Safina played two tournaments during the grass court season. She lost in the semifinals of the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands to Tamarine Tanasugarn. At Wimbledon, Safina advanced to the fourth round for the first time, where she defeated 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo in three sets. She then beat Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual runner-up Venus Williams in the semifinals 6–1, 6–0.
In July, she won the Banka Koper Slovenia Open in Portorož, defeating defending champion Sara Errani in the final.[10] During the North American summer hard court season, Safina was unsuccessful in defending her title in Los Angeles, losing to Zheng Jie in the third round. The following week, in Cincinnati, Safina defeated Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-5 victory. Having advanced to her eighth final of the year, Safina lost to Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-2.
Safina has become the first player to qualify for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, to be held in Doha, Qatar.[11]
In the second round of Rogers Cup 2009, she was defeated by French tennis player Aravane Rezaï 6-3, 2-6, 4-6.
Safina will be the top seed at the 2009 US Open where she will be aiming to win her first ever Singles Grand Slam title.
