By Blair Henley
On Dinara Safina’s personal website, she is asked the question, “How many more years do you want to play on tour?”
Her answer? “Until I die.”
So the next logical question is: Does psychological death count?
If so, Safina’s days are numbered.
It’s been a year since her mental meltdown came to a head after losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova at the 2009 French Open. It marked the third time she seemingly folded in a Grand Slam final and added fuel to the fire that she didn’t deserve the No. 1 ranking she held at the time.
At Wimbledon, Safina reached the semis before getting crushed 6-1, 6-0 by Venus Williams. She muddled through the rest of season with her best result coming in Cincinnati where she reached the final before falling to Jelena Jankovic. Oddly, that was also the tournament where she sustained the back injury that is still causing her trouble. After retiring from her fourth round match against Maria Kirilenko at this year’s Australian Open, Safina took almost three months off to heal a pair of stress fractures in her vertebrae.
Since her return she has played three tournaments, two of which she won last year, and emerged with only one match victory to show for it. She blamed her latest loss to No. 88 Klara Zakopalova on lack of match play saying, “I have hardly hit a ball in three months and you can’t really expect much when you have had no practice and no matches. I have to look ahead and get some matches.”
Matches would be helpful, but so would a complete psychological overhaul. It’s not hard to see that the Safin(a) genes run deep. Dinara and her brother Marat are the first brother/sister duo to hold the No. 1 ranking, but they also hold the dubious honor of being some of the least mentally stable players to reach that milestone.
Marat, who retired at the end of last year, won two Grand Slam singles titles and is widely regarded as the more talented of the siblings. He also broke hundreds of rackets in his career and was the first player to be fined for lack of effort in a tournament match. Dinara, on the other hand, has an impeccable work ethic, but her desperate desire to win causes her to short circuit when the stakes are highest. Few would recommend following in Marat’s footsteps, but perhaps Dinara would benefit from a hint of the detachment her brother was known for.
Safina credits her coach, Zeljko Krajan, for helping her reach No. 1 last year, but he’s drawn criticism for his coaching style, often shaking his head or rolling his eyes at her from the stands. That wouldn’t be such a problem if his student kept her focus on the court where it belongs. Instead Safina looks to Krajan often during matches and relies heavily on his on-court coaching in the non-majors where it is allowed.
Maybe it’s not a coincidence that she has fared far better in finals where her coach could come down once per set to keep her focused and prevent potential meltdowns.
Regardless, Safina will need to learn how to problem solve without self-destructing if she hopes to get back on track this year. If she doesn’t pull it together soon, her ranking will drop significantly. Her incredibly consistent results before her back injury in 2009 have left her with many computer points to defend in 2010. Without at least a few solid showings, her spot in the Top 10 is in jeopardy. She currently sits at No. 9.
Dinara Safina wears her heart on her sleeve. Her dark eyes have held tears and triumph, but there is something fans have yet to see in the 24-year-old Russian – belief. Once she regains her match rhythm, her biggest challenge will be believing that she is capable of beating any player on any day, even in the final of a Grand Slam. Without that confidence, she will never get another chance at a major title.