LOOKING FOR A UNIQUE FAMILY DOUBLE
Seventeen of them, for Lenin’s sake, infiltrating, seeking the U.S. Championship for which only 15 Americans were eligible. But only two of them with a chance. (You know who, named Venus and Serena.)
I think Tolstoy would have singled out 22-year-old Dinara Safina because she has the best story. Kid sister of the 2000 champion, Marat Safin. Shipped out from Moscow at age 12 to Spain for coaching. Strange country. Strange language. Knowing no one. Valencia, where the oranges come from – and good tennis players. Following the route of big brother, Marat, she fit right in – “It wasn’t hard,” Dinara shrugs – tuned up her game and became a touring pro.
Mama, Raouza Islanova, a teaching professional, thought it would be character-building for her kids. She didn’t want Marat’s pals calling him a mama’s boy if she continued coaching him. It worked for 6-foot-5 big brother and for little (so 6-foot is “little”?) sister later.
“Forever, I’ll always be his little sister,” she says, leaning forward in her chair, auburn hair pulled back, hazel eyes gleaming. She has a dream “that would be the most amazing thing that can happen.”
She means a family double: sister and brother holding majors. Never happened. Marat has two, Australia, 2005, plus the
U.S.
Now, is it her turn?
Well, this female U.S. Open looks like a delightful mess that nobody can win. Or anybody. Extraordinarily, the No. 1 ranking, held shakily by the gorgeous Serb, Ana Ivanisovic, can be grabbed by any one of four others — whoever bags the title: No. 2 Jelly Jankovic, No. 3 Serena Williams, No. 6 Olympic champ Elena Dementieva or No. 7 Safina. But don’t forget, No. 8 Venus Williams, ever a contender. (No. 5 Maria Sharapova is hurt. Defender Justine Henin has bugged out, leaving the rest to scrap for her crown.)
Tolstoy would pick Safina, as being much like the heroic Natasha in his “War and Peace,” and he would forgive her for being “unable” to finish that book. Who has?
As a player who tries, Dinara has few equals. And lately she has outdone big brother, he 37 lengths behind at No. 44.
On a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, the two of them served up a war and peace scenario. Dinara was on first, and felt so peaceful in beating an American 16-year-old Kristie Ahn, 6-3, 6-4, she couldn’t believe it. Usually, she says, she is “very tight, nervous,” in starting a major. “It’s better that way. But I flew straight from China, so somehow slowly I got into this atmosphere.”
China meant the Olympics where she silver medaled to compatriot Dementieva. For Dinara, who delivered a memorable backhand down the line to snatch a match point from Sharapova on the way to the French final, the Beijing defeat was the lone loss in her last 17 starts. A powerful baseliner, she ran up a 15 match streak by winning Los Angeles and the Canadian Open en-route to the narrowly lost Olympic final, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
A little later came the war as big brother was cursing court officials while slipping past Floridian Vinnie Spadea, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
“If my sister does everything opposite me, she will be No. l for a long time,” said Marat later, with a chuckle. He was No. 1 himself for a while in 1990.
We all know that the irrepressible Headless Horseman, who can laugh at himself, is at times truculent. It so happened that serving at 4-5, deuce in the fourth set, he was called for a foot fault on the second serve, thus a double fault to set point. He sat down, refused to play, saying naughty things to the umpire and line judge who called the foot fault. The referee, Brian Early appeared, insisted that he play. So they continued. Safin lost the next point, the set. “But I pulled myself together in the fifth.”
A plus for him, instead of sulking. Marat probably disappointed a few customers by not indulging in a specialty: racket obliteration. His long harangue to reporters amounted to, “They say rules are rules…stupid rules somebody made in, I don’t know, 1850…it’s like talking to walls…you are supposed to be warned before being called a foot fault.”
Wrong. He was issued a warning for audible obscenity (a beauty), and will be fined.
Anyway, Dinara says, “the important thing in tennis is terenic, Russian for patience. You work so hard and nothing good happens. You have to be patient.” She must tell Marat. “Why so many of us [Russians] here? We push each other while we’re growing up.
She shakes her head, talking of passing him up in the rankings. “Nothing changed. It doesn’t need results. It’s family. Doesn’t matter. Jealousy? In our family doesn’t exist.”
Did she watch Marat’s match? “Oh, no, I get too tight. I don’t watch unless I’m out of the tournament.”
Tolstoy would have watched, looking for a fiery character he could model after Marat.
Tags: New York, Tennis, US Open
August 26 2008 02:37 pm | US Open
