INQUIRER Sports

PARIS?Venus and Serena Williams have not cornered the market on sibling success in tennis: Dinara Safina and Marat Safin are the first sister and brother to reach No. 1 in the rankings.

When the French Open starts on Sunday, Safina will be seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. Now the Russian wants to win her first major title?and she can turn to big brother for all-in-the-family Slam advice.

His best words of wisdom? ?You just have to enjoy every moment,? Safina said on Friday. ?Have to live by the day and enjoy every day.?

Not that she always heeds what Safin says, even if he does own US Open and Australian Open championships.

?He can maybe practice 1? hours a day, and for him, it?s enough. I?m a little bit more stubborn. I need, like, to have maybe four hours on the court,? Safina said. ?And he was, like, ?No, just practice half an hour.??

The resemblance to her brother is striking, and a smile crossed that familiar face as Safina earned a laugh at his expense. Then her expression turned more serious, and she added: ?But, I think he respects me much more now.?

The 23-year-old Safina and 29-year-old Safin?he is seeded 20th at the French Open?were born into the sport. Their father is the director of a Moscow tennis club, and their mother is a tennis coach who worked with both kids when they were young.