Russian, Dinara Safina, sister of two-time Grand Slam champion, Marat Safin, plays Serena Williams for the 2009 Australian Open Women’s Singles title.  For Safina, who has never previously progressed beyond the third round at the Australian Open, this will be her second time in a Grand Slam singles final (she reached the 2008 French Open final losing to Ana Ivanovic).  For Serena Williams, it’s a chance to win her fourth Australian Open title and tenth Grand Slam singles title.  The winner will be ranked Number One when the new rankings come out on Monday.  We present our analysis of the players below:

                        Dinara Safina                               Serena Williams

Form                 Struggled at times                        Improving with each match

Fitness              Put in the hours off court               Seems fit and trim

Experience        Second Grand Slam final                 Won Oz Open three times    

Pressure            Feels ready to win                         Wants more Slams

Intangible          Can she escape Marat’s shadow?       Won in ’03, ’05, ’07…