Russian world number three Dinara Safina had a blast of what might confront her in next week's Australian Open as she battled fierce heat to reach the semi-finals of the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Russian world number three Dinara Safina had a blast of what might confront her in next week's Australian Open as she battled fierce heat to reach the semi-finals of the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Safina reached the semi-finals of the Sydney WTA tournament for the first time in wearing down tenacious French opponent Alize Cornet, 6-3, 6-4.
The score belied the on-court battle with Safina taking 1hr 48 min to subdue 18-year-old Cornet in air temperatures hovering around 36 Celsius (97 Fahrenheit).
Safina will play Japan's world number 29 Ai Sugiyama in Thursday's semi-finals after Sugiyama had a walkover when quarter-final opponent Svetlana Kuznetsova cried off with an abdominal strain.
Russian third seed Elena Dementieva slogged it out for 2hr 43min before dousing Polish sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 and will face either top seed Serena Williams or Denmark's eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki in the other semi.
Safina, like the majority of the overseas competitors, is hitting the height of an Australian summer after preparing in a freezing mid-winter Europe and she felt the effects of the sapping heat.
"Obviously, you cannot prepare in Europe with the same conditions as the sun," she said. "I'm just trying to get as fit as I can. I was running a lot to get fitter, and that's all. Basically, there's not much you can do.
"It's now just a matter of getting used to the weather, because the body is ready."
Safina described the conditions, similar to what she is likely to experience in Melbourne, as tougher than those at the US Open.
"It's tough. I would say in the US Open it also can get very hot. The problem with the sun is just more dangerous here than in the US Open," she said.
"So in my case, I never blame the weather. If I blame (anything), I blame myself. I don't find excuses. If you're ready, you're ready. If not, you can find a hundred excuses."
Safina was not happy with the way world number 16 Cornet dictated much of Wednesday's match.
"Of course, I'm happy that I won. I'm hitting the ball hard in practice and suddenly I'm going on the court and the girl is dictating all the points," she said.
"It's actually not the way it should be. It has to be the other way around: That I'm dictating the points and the girls are running around."
Sugiyama leads Safina 3-2, but the Russian has won their last two meetings.
"Sugi is a very aggressive player," Safina said.
"I just have to be aggressive tomorrow and for once to play my game. There is no other way."
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