WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 – Even though she sputtered after her run to the Australian Open final, Dinara Safina will become No. 1 when rankings are released on April 20, edging ahead of the hobbled Serena Williams, who lost in the first round of Marbella on Wednesday.
Safina became the fifth player to hold the No. 1 ranking since Justine Henin retired last May. Since then, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Serena have held the top spot. Safina and Jankovic have not won a Slam.
Safina became No. 1 on Wednesday due to Serena’ loss. In order to retain No. 1, Serena would have had to win Marbella and defend her title in Charleston next week. Last year, Serena received 860 points for winning Charleston, but this year, because it’s no longer a premier event, she can only gain 470 points for winning the title.
Over the past 52 weeks, Safina has won four Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles – Montreal, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Tokyo; and has been a runner-up five times, including the 2009 Australian Open (a brutal lost to Serena), 2008 Roland Garros (a rout at the hands of Ivanovic), and the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics (a tough defeat to Elena Dementieva).
While she’s certainly been one of the most consistent elite players over the past season and has the weapons to take down anyone, Safina was severely disappointed after her Indian Wells and Miami fades that she couldn’t seize the top spot outright. But as honest and forthright as players come, Safina is willing to stand up and defend herself.
“There’s no question that while I am very proud of my results over the past year, I would have liked to reach this achievement in a different manner,” she said. “I hope to prove to everyone over the coming months that I merit the honor of being World No. 1.” Safina’s brother, Marat, reached No. 1 on November 20, 2000 and the siblings became the first brother-sister duo in tennis history to reach the top spot.
Given her left leg injury and how she fell apart in her 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 defeat to Czech Klara Zakopalova in Spain, Serena has to be considered doubtful for Charleston. Other Marbella winners were Kaia Kanepi, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Sorana Cirstea, but Roberta Vinci took down Nicole Vaidisova 6-3, 6-3.
In this highly celebrated siblings day, in early action at Ponte Vedra Beach, Alona Bondarenko bested her sister Kateryna 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Elena Vesnina also won.
Houston has a problem with high profile American players going down, as James Blake and Mardy Fish exited on Tuesday, but on Wednesday, Wayne Odesnik – who loves clay – wasted Juergen Melzer 6-4, 6-0, and the towering John Isner out-served Paul Capdeville 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(5). Winners in Casablanca were Albert Montanes, Victor Hanescu and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Here’s Fish after losing to Bjorn “Rafa” Phau: “I’ve played against plenty of guys, and he gets to balls that nobody else can get to. And then he hits three backhand winners in a row to finish the match.”
From TennisReporters.net
