|
|
| 02 Jul 2001 | |
| Safina follows in the footsteps of her brother |
By Eleanor Preston
Little sisters don’t always have it easy, even at the best of times, but imagine how tough life is when your big brother is one of the most famous young talents in tennis and you are a junior, trying to follow in his footsteps.
Russia’s Dinara Safina knows just how that feels. Her brother Marat is the reigning US Open champion and is already an established star on the ATP men’s circuit, ending last year as the world’s No.2 player behind Gustavo Kuerten.
15-year-old Dinara has her brother’s brooding looks and plenty of his talent. That ability certainly shone through on Monday when she beat Mexico’s Maria-Jose Lopez-Herrera 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the Girls’ Singles competition at Wimbledon.
As 15th seed in the competition Dinara was expected to be too strong for Herrero but often that simply places extra pressure on young player’s shoulders and makes it even harder to live up to that famous name. Dinara took it all in her stride, letting her big groundstrokes and impressive first serve do all the talking.
Tennis is a family affair for Dinara. She is coached by her mother Rouza Islanova, who was also responsible for helping other promising young Russian players like Elena Dementieva, who Islanova coached during the early years of her career.
Having such expert and experienced help from home has helped Dinara compile some impressive results on the junior circuit this year. She has already won three titles, at Citta Di Prato, Salsomaggiore and Florence and she was runner up at the Fischer Junior Open. Dinara’s best surface is clay but like her brother she is slowly gaining more experience on grass. She has enjoyed lots of success in doubles events too, and reached a career high world junior ranking of No.7 in the world in January. Playing doubles will come in handy here at Wimbledon, where confidence and aggression at the net can prove crucial.
Dinara will play Nicola Pitts in the second round of the singles event. Pitts, from the USA, came through the qualifying competition at Wimbledon and pulled off an upset over Daniela Kix, coming from a set down to beat the Austrian girl 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
In other results on Monday ninth seeded Briton Anne Keothavong raced to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over her countrywoman Katie O’Brien and Angelique Widjaja, who is seeded eight in the Girls’ Singles event, also secured a one-sided win when she beat Chinese qualifier Shuai Peng 6-3, 6-0.
^ Back to Top
|
