Dinara Safina hopes to play in Australian Open

Last week at the Sony Ericsson WTA championships in Doha, Dinara Safina retired tearfully from her 1st match against Jelena Jankovic.  The match was only 1-1 in the first set, but she couldn't take the pain any longer.  "I did everything possible to play here," she said. "As I was chasing this #1 (ranking), I was fighting with my body."  She went on to talk about that one of her discs in her lower back was "starting to fracture", and that she has been dealing with the pain for over 3 months.

Safina faces 6 weeks of rest followed by a long rehabilitation process that could put being able to play in the Australian Open in serious jeopardy.

"When I speak with the doctors, it doesn't sound good." Dinara said.  "Its possible I may have to skip it."  So with her ailment and advice she has gotten from the doctors it seems like its highly unlikely she'll be ready to play come January.  But it hasn't stopped Safina from entering the tournament in Brisbane, Australia at the beginning of January.  If Dinara does make it to the warmup tournament in Brisbane she will join a strong field featuring Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, and Ana Ivanovic.