Russia's Dinara Safina eyes the ball as she plays Maria Sharapova during their fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament yesterday at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris. - AP

PARIS (AP):

Marat Safin once dropped his shorts in glee after hitting an especially nifty shot at the French Open, which makes it natural to wonder how his younger sister might celebrate winning the title.

Along with imposing physiques, booming forehands and short fuses, the siblings from Moscow share a flair for theatrics. Two-time Grand Slam champion Safin might be the most unpredictable player on the men's tour, and now Dinara Safina has made an improbable run to her first major final.

Seeded 13th at Roland Garros, she'll play Ana Ivanovic for the championship today.

"God kept me in this tournament," Safina said.

Not that God has anything against Maria Sharapova or Elena Dementieva, but Safina did rally from match point down to beat them in back-to-back rounds. Now she'll try to become the first woman to win a Grand Slam title after saving match point in two matches.

She well remembers her brother fending off a match point to beat Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the 2005 Australian Open, then winning the title three nights later. Does the potential parallel boost her confidence?

"We will see," Safina said.

She and Safin are the first sister and brother to reach Grand Slam finals, but she's unaccustomed to the attention that comes with playing for a major title.

Uncertain

Safin also won the US Open in 2000. He has been text-messaging congratulations to his sister from London, where he's preparing for Wimbledon, and she's uncertain whether he'll attend the final.

"Maybe he will make a surprise and come, because I really like when he comes to see me. But," she added with a laugh, "he will also be so nervous he will not even be able to watch."

Safina remembers well Safin's cheeky moment at Roland Garros four years ago. To celebrate a drop shot he hit for a winner, he mooned the crowd and drew a point penalty.

"They have it on YouTube, so I saw it a couple of times," she said. "He's an entertainer. That's why the people love to come to watch him play, because he always gives some show. He's real on the court. If he has emotions, he will not hide them. He will explode, because I think that he's real.