Maria Kirilenko reached her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal through unique circumstances Sunday, as No.2 seed Dinara had to retire while down 5-4 in the first set with a low back injury.

An emotional Dinara spoke about the situation to the press after the match.

“I didn’t think this could happen. I did an MRI before I came here. I don’t know what happened. It’s shocking,” said Dinara, who struggled with her back in the second half of last season. “It’s exactly the same injury as in Doha. Exactly the same. I cannot move anywhere. Whenever I try to move, it hurts terribly.

“The plan for me is see the doctor as soon as possible to see what happened. I don’t know how I will pack my bags. I’ll ask my team to help, because I don’t know how to move. Maybe I’ll stay here one more day. I don’t know…”

Kirilenko, who eliminated Maria Sharapova earlier in the tournament, will next play Zheng Jie.

Dinara Dominant in Round 3

Dinara had her most convincing victory of the Australian Open so far on Friday, as she dispatched Elena Baltacha in 57 minutes, 61 62, to advance to the round of 16.

“I think it’s nice to win this quick,” Dinara said. “I remember last year playing three hours in the heat. I like this better than three hours.”

Dinara’s superior power was a key component in the rout.

“My game is trying to put pressure on an opponent, not for them to put pressure on me,” she said. “So I managed to dictate play from the first point of the match.”

Dinara said she was pleased with her performance overall.

“I think it was better than medium, so it was a 7 [out of 10],” she said.   

Through To Third Round

Dinara recorded a routine 63 64 victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Dinara is now 2-1 all-time against the Czech, though this was their first match-up in almost five years.

“In some moments I played not bad,” she said. “It’s good that I won the match and still there is so much room to improve. That’s such a good thing; you know   deep inside you have so much more to bring out.”

Next up for Dinara is Britain’s Elena Baltacha.

“She’s a good player,” Dinara said. “She’s won two matches. She has nothing to lose. So basically I just want to go out there and do better than I did today.”

Solid Start In Melbourne

No.2 seed Dinara defeated Magdalena Rybarikova, 64 64, Monday in first round action at the Australian Open.

Dinara, last year’s Australian Open runner-up, is now 2-0 all-time against Rybarikova, having previously routed her in the second round of the 2008 French Open.

“I had some good moments and bad moments, but overall I’m happy I got through, and I’m pretty satisfied with everything,” Dinara said during her post-match press conference.

This is Dinara’s first Grand Slam since brother Marat retired from the ATP World Tour.

“It’s weird,” she said. “But on the other hand, it had to happen, so somehow I was prepared. I knew it wasn’t going to be forever. And I still get the same support, so it’s good.”

No.5 seed Elena Dementieva beat No.2 seed Dinara, 62 63, in the quarterfinals of the Medibank International Sydney on Wednesday night. It was Dementieva’s fourth straight victory over her fellow Russian, giving her a 6-5 edge in the all-time series. In fact, their most recent match-up had been a three-set victory for Dementieva here in last year’s final.

For the second straight day, Dinara dropped the first five games of the first set, but this time she wasn’t able to mount a comeback.

“I don’t think it was a bad match, especially the second set,” Dinara said. “It was very close. The score was 3-2 for her, and it could have been 4-1 for me.  Some things didn’t go my way.”

Dinara said despite the loss, she can take some positive things into next week’s Australian Open and just needs to get some more big-match experience.

“The season is just starting,” she said. “I’m pain-free and healthy. I just need to keep on going.
“I can say I beat a Top 10 player and I lost to another one of the top players. The game is there. I still have a few days to practice and improve my shots. That’s basically what you look for with good tennis.  So now I just need to work a little bit on the things that were missing. Hopefully, I can do better each match.”

Successful 2010 Debut in Sydney

Dinara made a successful 2010 singles debut on Tuesday, winning her first round match at the Medibank International Sydney after receiving a first round bye.

Dinara took on the most dangerous non-seed in the draw - world No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska, just a single spot out of the seedings - and as expected it wasn’t easy. Dinara lost the first five games of the match before rallying, even saving a set point down 5-4; she would eventually complete the first set comeback and go on to win in straight sets, 75 64. 

“Well, it was a little bit of a slow start, but it was a start. It was a winning start,” said Dinara, who is now 2-0 all-time against Radwanska. “It’s not easy to play against Agnieszka. She’s a Top 10 player and plays very smart. I was missing my timing until 5-0 but then I found my game. It ended up being a very solid match for me for my first match of the year.”

Dinara said she had no problem with her back, which casued her to withdraw from the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2009.

“Thanks God it’s fine,” she said. “I had a sad end of the year last year, but I had a big rest. I took really good care of it, and thank God I can play tennis now.”

In the quarterfinals, Dinara will play Elena Dementieva, who she lost to here in last year’s final.

In the first round of doubles on Monday, Dinara and fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko fell to No.1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 62 63.