Safina To Test The Best

If Dinara Safina is to win the Australian Open, she will become the world's number one player regardless of how anyone else performs.

Unlike the Men's side, this spot is unlikely to be preserved by one single player for a long length of time. This mainly being down to the sheer competitiveness of the Women's game.

However, what this would do for Safina is to state to the tennis world that she is no longer just Safin's little sister, but that she is the rising star of Women's tennis.

The stern, focused and determined face she showed while out on court against fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, was there for all to see that she is not just out here to have a bit of fun, but that she is here to win her first grand slam and indeed emulate the achievements of her brother Marat by climbing to the world number one ranking.

Although Safina does seem to have kept last season's momentum going with her 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 defeat of Makarova in the second round, there is a clear inconsistency still to be seen in her game, as demonstrated in the first set. With 44 unforced errors and a poorly played tie-break, she looked wildly out of sorts.

However, despite this she managed to gather herself together and take the next twosets albeit with some tentative moments and then stormed clear convincingly, an ability to recover that is rarely shown by her brother Marat, who often seems to fall apart in similar situations.

 Not alone did Safina show the power in her game to fight back, but furthermore demonstrated the strong and ruthless mentality that is often seen in top class performers such as the the Williams sisters.

The imposing physical presence and sheer firepower of Safina is in stark contrast to the style and elegance of Ana Ivanovic, a main title contender.  

Her next opponent, Kaia Kanepi, the Estonian ranked number 25 in the world, is likely to pose more of a threat to Safina, having breezed through her second round match up 6-3, 6-1 against Patricia Mayr.

Last year Safina was battling on many fronts. One of these included her fiery temperament which often saw her lose matches which she was well capable of winning.

Now however, she uses her temperment as a driving force, so often pumping her fist and willing herself on. She has always had strong shots, but now a much fitter and more muscular Safina is hitting some of the most powerful shots on tour. As well as this she has managed to hone her sliced backhand to the point of near perfection, giving opponents good reason to worry considering the power of her forehand.

With increased maturity she is now thinking her way through difficult matches, a good sign of a potential grand slam champion. If She can remain focused and hold her game together there is no doubt that she will progress deeply into the tournament, and possibly win it.

With her most likely opponents (if she is to reach the final or semis) looking to be the on form Serb Ana Ivanovic or seven time grand slam champion Venus Williams, she will have to be at the very best of her game to out-hit and outwit this experienced duo, and although she is certainly not at her peak right now, there's a strong chance she will be, come the end of the tournament.

Perhaps it's good for her to stay mildly under the radar for now, as hype can often do damage to the confidence of a young player looking to win their maiden slam. 

If there's one thing for sure, it's that no hype can damage facts, and right now the facts say that if Dinara Safina wins the Australian Open, she is the world number one.