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8/13/09 5:52 PM | Johan Lindahl
After years of all but ignoring his younger sister Dinara Safina in public, Marat Safin has come to the defence of his sibling, now standing atop the women's game as world No. 1.
Big brother has finally had enough of the veiled and not-so-veiled criticism of a top player who has never won a Grand Slam, Dinara's current problem. "She's a hard worker," said two-time Grand Slam champion Safin who will retires at the end of the season and admits that he has likely run out of tennis petrol himself.
"For her, everything is like a battle. She wants it (No. 1), she wants it badly. She spends so much time on court. I think she is more professional than all the players put together."
The 29-year-old added: "Nobody believed that she was going to be No. 1 in the world. Nobody believed that she was going to be top 10 even two, three years ago. So look where she is right now. A lot of people they giving her trouble, okay, she's No. 1 in the world but she never won a Grand Slam.
"I'm really proud of her and the fact that she's holding up herself even though that's somebody can be really rough on her. She's there."
As for his own career, the Russian admits he's all but done.
"I'm realistic. I know I am not going to win (another title). Every match is a battle. It's tough not to choke in the important moments. But I want to finish up in a right note. I should enjoy it more. I just want to finish up nice."
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