"She couldn't really stop herself from winning"

I missed this piece on Dinara Safina when it was published over a week ago; it is worth reading. In it, the former world number 1 explains that she re-injured her back because she returned to the tour too soon (she was gone for so long), and she also explains what now makes her spine vulnerable.

After she re-injured her back, some of you will recall, Safina could not walk for a week. She then did a few weeks of rehab in Argentina. She says she has to make sure that she positions her hips and pelvis correctly, or she has spinal pain. The key, she says, is to make her core stronger through exercise so that she will get the kind of support she needs for her back.

Countrywoman Elena Dementieva suggests that Safina played in too many tournaments, but that "She couldn't really stop herself from winning." Safina says: "...people are starting to lose respect for me, so I have to earn the respect back." She says she knows what she has to do, and she isn't giving up.