Day 2 - Favourite Women's Player

DINARA SAFINA

If you read my blog or you follow me on Twitter, you probably know already that my favourite WTA star is clearly Dinara Safina. She has become my favourite only a few months after I said I was never going to support her. Unbelievable, but real.



Usually, when I just start to watch a sport, I am cheering for the outsider. I have always liked to see surprises in sport or even provoke them, while being a TaeKwonDo player. When I saw Dinara for the first time, she was the best player in the world and she was playing against Sabine Lisicki in Wimbledon 2009. She was playing amazingly well, to be exact. So, knowing none of them, I decided to take the outsider's side. Of course, Dinara won and I said I was not going to support her in her next matches for anything. I was basically not liking her because she was too good. However, in like two months, after seeing more of her matches, who was her biggest fan? Moi, of course. Now, it's a pity that the physical problems decided to stay in her way to success. It's too bad that she couldn't take home a Grand Slam trophy before this happened. Anyway, I can't wait her to be back and to proove everyone she is amazing. I've already seen that. :)



Davai, Dinara!

Mutua Madrid Gala Dinner photos

Here it is. The fourth Masters tournament and one of the most beautiful is here. Last night, past champions as Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer attended a gala dinner at Madrid, along with some former players, also champions here.

Rafa... If Rafa is not in the tennis outfit, he is not Rafa anymore. I prefer him in the sleeveless, to be honest.

About this guy, I don't know why everyone says he should get a haircut. I actually think he looks better this way. You go, Muzza!

And without a doubt, the best dressed of the night was, (as always), Roger Federer. He looks elegant even in a shirt and a pair of shorts, so in a suit like this, he is perfect.

Hello, champ! Carlos Moya couldn't miss from a dinner dedicated to the past Madrid winners.

Juan Carlos Ferrero, who recently came back succesfully on courts, Manolo Santana and the one and only.

And here is one of Romania's biggest players and champions, Ion Tiriac. Welcome, Sir!

And, as you can probably figure out, this is the pair who stole the show for me. My gorgeous favourites Dinara and Marat, dressed all classy, staying together and smiling. Perfection!

DiViHo FTW!

First of all, CLAY SEASON IS HERE!!!!

I don't know why most people don't like it, but I can say it's my favourite, along with the grass season. This week Charleston, Casablanca, Houston and Marbella are opening their gates for the first matches on the red hot surface. Watch out, things can get dirty! ;)

Nicest surprise in Marbella: Dinara took Pironkova out! In two! 6-3, 6-4! Yes, we can be happy for this. I would say a few things about her still not good serve and her many double faults, but I got used to it. It's Dinara and with this serve she was a world No.1 and a Grand Slam finalist, so let it go! The key to her old form is the rest of the game.

Hanescu beat Berrer in two aswell, 6-3, 7-6. I am still impressed by his serve which has both force and placement, but the inconstancy is a problem. So keep it the way you did yesterday!

Lindstedt/Tecau def. Kohlmann/Ventura, 6-4, 6-4. Welcome back, Brad! :) Too bad he was injured at this beginning of the year, they could have done MANY good results. In the quarters they made the good powerful game that brought them trophies. In the commie's opinion, it was such an amazing match that he couldn't even decide which team was better, as he said about each player he was the best. (Gotta love commies!)

In Casablanca I'll be with last year's finalist in singles and last year's winners in doubles. Despite the fact that, being realist, especially in singles is not that easy...

A shadow starts to become real

As I said, the shadow of old Dinara slowly starts to become Dinara again. After last year's series of injuries, things have gone from bad to worse, but at Indian Wells she defeated Parra Santonja and the twenty-third favourite Hantuchova. Better and better!

"So, for me it was tough, you know, because I love the sport," she said. "And once you're not enjoying it, you struggle."

"Like when you have some bad moments, like your head's falling down. But when you're believing you're like 'Okay, it's not my day. I'm just gonna keep working hard."

I was very sorry when she stopped working with Zeljko Krajan. He is the man who made her No.1 and their relationship seemed to be a great one. Then she worked with an Argentinian coach and now she seems to get along well with her new coach, former player David Sanguinetti.

"I really like David, he was really positive everytime. There were moments in the practice I would go down. He's like 'Come on, keep it up, let's work hard'."

I think this is a good start for her to recover her position. She is ranked outside of Top 100 and this certainly isn't her real place. The attitude however is great. Leave the past, live in the present and just learn from the old mistakes. Davai!

Fed Cup: Russia press conference

It seems like Masha was in a very good mood. Enjoy! :)

*Russia will meet France in the first round.

A Diary : WTA players as kids

Hi again! After the cute article with tennis parents and their kids, it's the time for another cute article. Here are some of my favourite tennis players when they were younger.

Amelie Mauresmo, waiting to take a piece of cake on her birthday.

Tatiana Golovin. Adorable as always.

The VIP. The camera has always loved Maria Sharapova.

Everybody knows this kid, now grown-up. One of the biggest names in tennis history, Martina Hingis.

Wasn't she cute? Marion Bartoli, enjoying her winter holiday.

Just a word: ANGELIC. Recently-retired Elena Dementieva, pretty since she was born.

Maria Kirilenko

Fancy. Jelena Jankovic, showing she has always been in fashion.

Dinara Safina hasn't changed too much. She has always been so cute!
*Note: Just take a look at the second picture. So adorable!

Caroline Wozniacki

I'm sure you've recognized this tennis star, even without looking at the second pic. The always-beautiful Ana Ivanovic.

I hope you like them as I do. Who do you think is the cutest? :)

A Diary : WTA players

Hello, guys! :) Today I was reading some websites and blogs and I saw everything is about the personal opinion. And I thought: "Well, most of my articles are news. Should I do something?". So I decided to share with you my opinions, my preferences etc.

So in this very first diary page, I want to present to you my Top 5 WTA Players.

5. Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) - Alex is good at everything. In tennis, she appeared from nowhere last year in Warsaw. Then she repeated the performance this year, defending Top 10 players or former Top 10 players. Off the court, she has a big talent in painting and acting. She's really an amazing girl.

4. Kim Clijsters (BEL) - Champion, on and off the court. When you say Clijsters, you don't need to say nothing more. Her talent is undoubted. She is a former world no.1 in singles and doubles, she won 2 Grand Slam titles and played another 3 finals. And the most impressive thing is that she won her second US Open title, in only her third tournament back. Off the court, she has no reason to not be happy, she has an amazing husband and Jada is the most beautiful kid I've ever seen.


3. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) - Bad girl. Only on the court. She is friendly, she is funny and she plays football like no other player. :) Talking about her tennis, it's really impressing how she has adapted her game to all surfaces. She has a strong serve, a heavy forehand and she is capable of very spectacular shots. She won 2 Grand Slam titles and other 10 WTA titles. She is a former world no.2, but I know she can be no.1 one day.

2. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) - Altough she has never won a Grand Slam singles title, she is one of the toughest and fittest players on the tour. She won the mixed doubles competition at Wimbledon, with her partner, Jamie Murray. JJ is popular, she appeared in a lot of commercial, she became an UNICEF ambassador and she was the subject of an autobiographical documentary, Jelenin svet (Jelena's life). And everything because she is a pretty, funny and nice person.


1. Dinara Safina (RUS) - I have to admit, first I liked her just because she was Marat's sister. But then I started to like her for what she is, as a person and as a tennis player. She is the only player, male or female, I'm supporting no matter where, no matter against who is she playing. She won the US Open doubles title, and played 3 Grand Slam singles finals. Former world no.1. Now I'm just waiting to see her playing like before and, maybe, winning a Grand Slam singles title.


So, they are my favourites. Talk to you next time, via another "A Diary" article. :)

Dinara Safina : Heart of a warrior

Even with an US Open doubles title and a French Open singles final, Dinara Safina started 2009 still as "Marat's little sister". With a burning desire of beeing known as "Dinara, the tennis player", she started to play another tennis, a champion's tennis. She had a strong start of the year, reaching the Australian Open final. Then she continued the good winnings, reaching the French Open final and the Wimbledon semifinals. The best results came on clay. Dinara won the title of two Premier tournaments, at Madrid and Rome. And all the work was crowned by achieving the 1st ranking, dethroning the current 'Queen of Tennis', Serena Williams. This way, she began to be known for her game too, not only for her last name. But a mix of injuries and inconsistent matches made her fall back to the 2nd position. At the US Open she dragged to the 3rd round, where she lost to an unknown Czech young girl, Petra Kvitova.

This year's start was not very bad for Dinara. She reached the 4th round at Australian Open, but she had to retire against Maria Kirilenko, due an old back injury. This was the beginning of a meltdown. After loosing in a few tournaments in the 1st or the 2nd round and being thrown on the 70th position, the saving competition appeared. At Rogers Cup she reached the 3rd round, winning two important matches, against Andrea Petkovic and the fellow Russian Nadia Petrova. In the 3rd round she faced the French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone. Just four days after this loss, Dinara got a chance for revenge against Francesca, in the first round at New Haven. She converted it. Her next opponent will be Daniela Hantuchova.

After a long hard year, Dinara Safina doesn't give up, fights like a warrior and scores victory over a 2010 Grand Slam champion. Her fans, including me, are waiting to see their favourite's next move, hoping she will follow the steps of her brother and mentor, Marat Safin.

Davai, Dinara!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DINARA!

Today is the birthday of Dinara Safina, one of the best Russian tennis players and world's no. 3. Dinara, these are some messages from your fans around the world:

Dan, USA: Happy birthday, I'm glad you're back and good luck! You're my no.1!!!

Jennifer, USA: Happy birthday, have a wonderful day and good luck in Stuttgart and all the tournaments you'll play!

Paul, France: Dinara, I hope today will be a special day for you and will give you the power to win!

Mario, Argentina: Wish you all the best, I hope your back is fine and you'll be back on the no.1 position. You deserve it!

Juan, Spain: Happy birthday, good luck in Stuttgart and I hope I'll see you in Madrid!

Vanessa, France: Happy birthday, Dinara! You're the best tennis player and if your injury doesn't come back, I'm sure you can win everything! Wait you in Paris for the Roland Garros!

...and...

Gael Monfils: Happy birthday, Dinara!!!!

And now, my message...

Ioana, Romania: You know, it's hard to be the last, because they already said everything...:D Happy birthday, have a great year! You and Marat were always my idols and two examples for being strong and powerful in every situation. You really are a hero and, I don't know, when I see your matches, it's like I'd see my sister playing. I wish you all the best, I hope you'll show again your talent and I'll support you everytime, especially in the Grand Slam tournaments, because I know you can! Xoxo. :*

I hope I made you a nice surprise :-)

Dinara Safina back on tour!!!!

Dinara Safina (RUS) will play in Stuttgart next week and she will try to win her 13th title in career.

Dinara didn't play for about 2 months because of a back injury, who seemed to be pretty bad. But now she is back on the court! Last year in Stuttgart, Safina played the final but lost to another Russian and friend, Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Good luck, Dinara, I hope your back will be OK and you'll win this tournament too!

Dinara Safina's injury seems to be really bad!

The back injury that cost Dinara Safina the world No. 1 ranking at last year’s WTA championships seems to be really hard.

Dinara's blog:

"I’m still in Croatia doing my recovery with my physio Tomislav Vrbnjak. He is really one of the best I’ve ever had in my life and he is really taking the best care of me.

My injury from Australia was pretty bad and takes so long to heal. The problem is that I had it since Cincinnati last year, and since then had been playing all the time while on pain killers. My back was really bad there but I didn’t feel anything the rest of the season until my last match at the Australian Open.

After that match, I had an MRI and I had two stress fractures on L5S1 and a rupture on the muscle. That was the worst news I could ever hear from a doctor, but now finally I’m recovering, though not as fast as I would prefer. My physio is really taking care of me and I’m slowly starting to practice."

When will she return? She is entered in Stuttgart but it is doubtful that she will play. I wish you all the best, Dinara!!!