The women's world number one is still without a Grand Slam title following her disappointing performance against Svetlena Kuznetsova in the recent French Open final and will surely be out to make amends at Wimbledon.

The 6-4 6-2 defeat was a crushing blow for Safina, who seems to be developing a worrying tendency to choke in major finals despite having plenty of other tournament successes on tour.

The 23-year-old Russian claimed four WTA crowns in 2008 but fell at the last hurdle at Roland Garros and then in Beijing, where she picked up an Olympic silver medal.

At the turn of the year, Safina looked a real force to be reckoned with at the Australian Open despite having previously never ventured beyond the third round but after reaching the final she was pummelled 6-0 6-3 by Serena Williams in less than an hour.

This fiery and tenacious character was understandably hurt by that loss but nevertheless picked up the pieces to reinforce her status as the top-ranked player with title-winning displays in Rome and Madrid during May.

Safina subsequently arrived in Paris as favourite having won 14 of her 15 claycourt matches in the season and when she marched into the final, few expected such a poor display to gift Kuznetsova victory.

There's no doubt she's eager to justify her position at the top with a major honour but she must hold her nerve - and improve on grass - in order to go the distance in SW19.