Finals at the tournament in the Dutch Hertogenbosse, Dinara Safina, became an excellent business card before the start of the legendary Wimbledon. The younger sister of Marat Safin has been walking in the "promising" for a long time, but only now firmly entrenched in the top twenty rating. But, judging by the mood of the girl, she is not going to stop at what has been achieved. In this Safina admitted to the correspondent of Izvestia Andrei Ivantsov.
This season you play much better than in the previous one, but so far you have not been able to win a single tournament. Is it a shame?
Indeed, this year I have noticeably added. She played in the finals twice - at a tournament in Italy and now, in Holland. The quarter-final of “Roland Garros” can also be considered a success ... To win the finals, there is still not enough strength and experience, but this does not upset me. I try to live by the principle: rejoice in the little, the head will always have time to cheer for the greater.
I heard more than once that you pay a lot of attention to the style and drawing of your game. This is true?
It seems to me that it is necessary to give pleasure to both ourselves and the audience, and not just to chase the ball and think: well, soon it would be over. At times, I even suffer from this. I want to play beautifully, as they say, on the viewer, and the rivals act toughly, and you have to switch to a sticky game. I hope that very soon, when I am in better shape, I will be able to dictate the course of the game myself. It's time to make all my fans beautiful.
The most memorable match of this season was probably the game of the 1/8 finals of “Roland Garros” against Sharapova? Then you not only turned the tide of the meeting, but also made your opponent play according to your rules ...
Yes, the game turned out really crazy. An entire dramatic film can be made. But matches in which you don’t keep score from the very beginning, but break the game along the way, take a lot of energy, emotions ...
Do you now feel that you need to improve the game?
I will not reveal any secret if I say that the main problem for any athlete is always a psychological state. You can play with one hand, with an injured back or leg, but if the head is in order, you will always achieve a good result. This is not easy to achieve, but I personally have a few secrets. But don’t ask, I won’t tell you anyway, otherwise the rivals will use them.
You have long been in the shadow of your more famous brother. Is it nice that now you are pulling more and more fame from him?
I always wanted to play no worse than my brother. But to be more popular than him is never. It's just not mine, especially since now I am very worried about Marat and I want him to return his championship game as soon as possible. And after each match, he does not forget to call me to congratulate or support.
At Wimbledon starting today, your main adviser and fan, as always, will be Mom?
What am I, little, or what? (Laughs.) Mom hasn’t been traveling with me for a long time. But she really remains my main adviser and fan. We regularly call up, and her opinion, of course, is the most authoritative.
Andrey IVANTSOV