David Sammel discusses with tennishead about Dinara Safina and her chances to win her first Grand Slam title in Paris after her back-to-back titles in Rome and Madrid.

tennishead: A year since Justine Henin retired there has been multiple things said about the vacuum at top of the game. But Safina has just won back-to-back titles – can she dare to dream about stepping into the shoes of Henin?

Dave Sammel: Safina has certainly established herself as the favourite for the French Open, and unlike Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic the pressure of becoming world No.1 has not caused her game to fall off.
I still see Serena Williams as the world No.1 on the hard and Venus Williams on the grass, so Dinara has to produce at both the French and at Wimbledon. Winning Roland Garros and going close at Wimbledon and the US Open is when we can start to begin thinking of her as filling the vacuum that Henin left, and paramount to that is a Grand Slam title.

th: What are her strengths and what has she been doing well?

DS: Few players hit the ball as heavy as Dinara, which intimidates opponents. She is similar in weight of shot to Lindsay Davenport and outwardly conveys her aggression. Her height is an advantage in serving, with which she is definitely capitalising on. Safina has gotten truly into shape, adding to her natural size and strength, which has improved stamina and speed phenomenally.

th: Is her major weakness perhaps a mental one?

DS: I don’t see her being mentally weak. She has passion and can get too emotional on the court, but increased confidence has helped her to channel the emotions into a positive. It remains to be seen if she can keep this control and convert into a Grand Slam final, the ultimate test.

th: Does she lack variety in her game?

DS: Yes, but she can overpower those who do and is better at what she does than the rest. This is why I still think on grass (Venus Williams) and hard courts (Serena Williams) still have the edge. Maria Sharapova is similar so her return will be interesting. She was mentally tougher but Safina moves better and both hit it heavy.

In Summary
She has the ability to win in Paris, she has the confidence to win in Paris but ultimately it will come down to her mental strength and self-belief on the big day.

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