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WTA Tour - Safina: \'I almost quit\'
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Dinara Safina has admitted that she was on the verge of quitting tennis after a third-round defeat in Doha last February.
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Fortunately her coach Zeljko Krajan convinced her she had the talent to succeed and the 22-year-old Russian has responded with a run of form that would have made her the envy of any of the great players of the past.
Since winning the German Open in Berlin with a win over Serena Williams and another over Justine Henin that sent the Belgian into retirement, Safina, younger sister of former world number one Marat Safin, has not looked back.
The Russian has reached the French Open and Beijing Olympics finals, the US Open semi-finals and won titles in Los Angeles, Montreal and Tokyo.
She has won 42 of her last 47 matches, climbed to number three in the rankings, and could be number one by the end of the season.
That success contrasts starkly with her form at the beginning of the season, when she lost in the first round in Sydney, then to an opponent ranked 194 in the opening round of the Australian Open, followed by a Fed Cup match against Israel's Shahar Peer.
"At the beginning of the year it was really terrible," she said at the Stuttgart Open. "I could already give up and say, 'Okay, I've had enough of this. I'll go and study or something'.
"Really, at the beginning of this year I was so deep in the hole I didn't know how to get out of there. I was completely lost. I was not enjoying it. It wasn't that I stopped loving this game, but it was why do I have to suffer so much? I'd go on the court and nothing is going on, and it was really a disaster."
Krajan managed to instill the confidence Safina lacked.
"He had to because I was not really a very positive or confident person, and he had to repeat a million times a day that I can play tennis, that I can hit the ball, I can be good," she said.
"He was patient enough to repeat this, and finally I began to believe more in myself.
"I stayed patient and thought maybe I have to work harder and give myself time to get better. After this it started to pay off with my results.
"I think in the crucial moments I was suffering so much, so now, in the tough moments, I'm more positive and I'm like okay, I've been in worse moments so I'll get out of here. It's made me stronger."
Reuters
More StoriesWTA news and information
Fortunately her coach Zeljko Krajan convinced her she had the talent to succeed and the 22-year-old Russian has responded with a run of form that would have made her the envy of any of the great players of the past.
Since winning the German Open in Berlin with a win over Serena Williams and another over Justine Henin that sent the Belgian into retirement, Safina, younger sister of former world number one Marat Safin, has not looked back.
The Russian has reached the French Open and Beijing Olympics finals, the US Open semi-finals and won titles in Los Angeles, Montreal and Tokyo.
She has won 42 of her last 47 matches, climbed to number three in the rankings, and could be number one by the end of the season.
That success contrasts starkly with her form at the beginning of the season, when she lost in the first round in Sydney, then to an opponent ranked 194 in the opening round of the Australian Open, followed by a Fed Cup match against Israel's Shahar Peer.
"At the beginning of the year it was really terrible," she said at the Stuttgart Open. "I could already give up and say, 'Okay, I've had enough of this. I'll go and study or something'.
"Really, at the beginning of this year I was so deep in the hole I didn't know how to get out of there. I was completely lost. I was not enjoying it. It wasn't that I stopped loving this game, but it was why do I have to suffer so much? I'd go on the court and nothing is going on, and it was really a disaster."
Krajan managed to instill the confidence Safina lacked.
"He had to because I was not really a very positive or confident person, and he had to repeat a million times a day that I can play tennis, that I can hit the ball, I can be good," she said.
"He was patient enough to repeat this, and finally I began to believe more in myself.
"I stayed patient and thought maybe I have to work harder and give myself time to get better. After this it started to pay off with my results.
"I think in the crucial moments I was suffering so much, so now, in the tough moments, I'm more positive and I'm like okay, I've been in worse moments so I'll get out of here. It's made me stronger."
Reuters