Grand Slam Tennis - Dinara Searches Her First Australian Open

In as much as I never expected Serena Williams and Dinara Safina to meet in this year's women's singles final of the Australian Open, they turned out to be the most credible candidates to contest for the women's crown when the smoke of battle cleared. And between the two players, I am more excited to see Safina participate in a final once again.

As I have written in a previous article before, Serena Williams is aiming to be the most decorated female player of her time. Her closest pursuer for that accolade in the person of Justine Henin has been in retirement since last season. Henin won seven Grand Slam titles when she left the game. To Henin's credit, her titles came from the three surfaces with Wimbledon being the exception and the French Open giving her the majority of the titles. She had more chances of winning more major tournaments because of her versatility in the other surfaces. Next in line to catch Serena is sister Venus who also has seven Grand Slams but has yet to win an Australian Open women's singles title. Most of her wins were at Wimbledon and the rest at the U.S. Open. Let us see if she can add to her tally.

Enter Dinara Safina who is still searching her first major title win. I love an underdog, especially if the underdog happens to be a player who has an amiable personality, wit and intelligence. And I found Safina having the just mentioned qualities.

I first listened to her speak about herself during the French Open final. Yes, she did lost the match but her face showed evidences of pure joy for having been able to play in the finals match. She showed her wit when she cracked some humorous remarks when asked about the friendly sibling rivalry between her and Marat. She exhibited her appreciation to the fans who although were more for Ana Ivanovic, still supported her when she hit a great shot or returned a winner. From that time on, I wanted to see Dinara more in the finals.

It is a good thing that Safina didn't pursue her plans of retiring from the sport. She wanted to try one last time before quitting for good. And her appearance in the French Open final has surprised herself in the same way she surprised the viewing public. It gave her such a boost in confidence that she started to play better. Her positive string of results saw her rise to third place in the women's ranking. And it has given her a sense of belief that her dream of winning a Grand Slam singles title can actually come true just like her brother Marat.

Unless she cuts down on her unforced errors, she actually has a better chance to beat Williams in their final. Her match against Dokic saw her not only playing against her opponent but also playing against a partisan crowd. And I liked the way she asked for the Australian Open viewing public for their support when she goes up against Serena. She knows that she's the underdog in the match and is not bothered by it. I hope that these women shall be playing their best tennis during the final.

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