NOTEBOOK French Open

Making a name for herself: Dinara Safina grew up overshadowed by her older brother, two-time major champion Marat Safin. Now she's finally making a name for herself. Safina beat Hana Sromova of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-2 Wednesday to move into the third round for the first time. "It was always like, 'Sister of Marat.' And I wanted to prove that I can also play tennis," Safina said. "I was sometimes trying to do too much. But then I relax. I am what I am. I am Dinara." En route to winning the Australian Open in 2005, Safin told reporters his sister would have to get into better shape if she was going to make it on the WTA Tour. Safina said her brother didn't merely pass that message along to the media. "He told me," said Safina, who won titles at the Paris Indoors and Prague tournaments in 2005. "But I also know that I had to be in much better shape to play against top players. I had to be much fitter. I'm working on it, and I'm still working on it." This year, Safina lost in the final at the Italian Open to Martina Hingis before heading to Roland Garros. She also reached the semifinals at the Gold Coast tournament in Australia, and the quarterfinals at Paris, Antwerp, Indian Wells, Charleston and Berlin. Now, for the first time in her career, Safina has outlasted her brother at a Grand Slam tournament.
Kournikova's cousin: Qualifier Evgeny Korolev isn't concerned about the famous footsteps he's following. In fact, the 18-year-old Russian prefers not to talk about his cousin, Anna Kournikova. Their mothers are sisters. "To be honest, I don't really want to talk about it because it takes a lot of time to talk," said Korolev, after losing 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to 2004 champion Gaston Gaudio in the French Open's second round. "If you want to know something, you can ask her, if possible." The French Open was Korolev's Grand Slam debut; he was the youngest man left in the field. He's 5-4 at tour-level tournaments, with his best result a round-of-16 finish on clay at Barcelona last month, including a victory over 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya in the first round.
Rezai's moment: Aravane Rezai's proudest moment used to be winning two gold medals at the 2005 Muslim Women's Games in Iran. That changed Wednesday when the qualifier fought her way to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 22nd-seeded Ai Sugiyama to reach the third round. For Rezai, the upset means more than merely her career's most significant win in front of the home crowd. The more than $41,000 in prize money guarantees the 142nd-ranked Rezai will be back on the courts for at least another season. Born in Saint-Etienne to Iranian parents, the 19-year-old Rezai took up tennis after a childhood stint as her older brother's ballgirl. Her coach is her father, Arsalan, a former soccer player who had never picked up a racket before he started training his children.
Associated Press