Safin and Safina Working Together, Even if Only Temporarily

Written by: Staff on 26th September 2010

Safin and Safina Working Together, Even if Only Temporarily |

They have always played down their relationship by saying they are their own people, but Marat Safin recently coached his sister Dinara Safina in preparation for her Seoul campaign this week. Their age difference, and the fact that Marat was training in Spain while Dinara was developing her own game in Russia, meant that she rarely benefited from her brother’s experience and expertise. But he was happy to help out recently when her coach was not available.

“He’s been working with me for a week,” she revealed in Seoul. “So it was really nice for me because he’s never been a coach. He’s pretty tough. I really enjoyed so much and he really put so much desire and heart. From my side I was little bit surprised but he really enjoyed.”

This has been a difficult season for Dinara as the former world No.1 attempted to return from a career-threatening back injury. Ranked two when she played her first event of the year in Sydney, by the time she played Montreal in August she had sunk to 70. She is showing signs of life again, but a long and difficult journey remains. Still, she is ready for the challenge as she plays out the rest of the season.

“For me, it’s tournaments where I want to play best and get my shape and tennis back. I want to feel better that I can start the next year hopefully healthy and play the whole year. Hope to finish the year at least with a good feeling that I had a chance to compete,” she said.

Topics: Brother, Coach, Desire, Difficult Season, Dinara Safina, Game, Heart, Journey, Marat Safin, Montreal In August, People, Relationship, Russia, Seoul, Shape, Signs Of Life, Spain, Sydney, Tennis