Safina believes that lack of practice and confidence are behind her poor performance in 2010.

“You see, only America’s Serena Williams can win a Grand Slam, not competing for a long time ahead of it. All the other tennis players are losing the game rhythm quickly, and confidence comes only when you win matches. Of course, it’s very difficult for me now. But I believe that it’s temporary. One day I already had been through a difficult period; I was losing a lot. But I still believed I can do better on the court. And I have the same belief now,” she told Sport-Express newspaper.

The culmination of the clay season – the French Open – kicks off in five days and the Russian says she is not going to be just a spectator at Roland Garros.

“My best shape hasn’t come yet. However, it does not mean that I'm not going to fight for the French Open, where I’ll achieve their best result. I always wanted to be World No. 1, and I’ll try to regain that position,” Safina said.

This year Safina celebrates the 10th anniversary of her professional career, and she stressed that she has something to boast about from those years.

“Any defeat, especially in the Grand Slam finals, is disappointing. At the same time I understand that I have done a lot already: became World No. 1; won a silver medal at the Olympics in Beijing; and took the Fed Cup with the Russian national team. These are the things I trained so hard for during the last 20 years,” the player stated.