NEW YORK -- Dinara Safina has a single finger up in the air as she holds her phone in front of her, excusing herself for just one minute.Im sorry, its my mom, she says in accented English, the glowing device lighting up her face.It happens to be her parents 38th wedding anniversary and she and her brother, fellow former world No. 1 tennis player Marat Safin, have treated them to a dinner out in Moscow.What is the limit? her mom asks her via text.No limit, Dinara types back.OK. We will just have water, her mom says, clearly joking.Safina cant help but break into a smile. OK, sorry. I will put this away. Now, where were we?***Where Dinara Safina is on this bright but cold winter day is Coney Island, Brooklyn. The onetime best womens tennis player in the world is finishing up her second week in a brand-new career: Coach. Shes based at a facility called MatchPoint NYC in what is a heavily Russian Jewish neighborhood. Shes been living in an apartment near Columbus Circle and Central Park on the Upper West Side since the end of August.I moved to New York for [the coaching], but also because I love it here, I wanted to move here, Safina says, having just finished a practice session with rising Ukrainian player Anhelina Kalinina, a finalist at the 2014 U.S. Open junior event.Ive always had a feeling for New York. I just said to myself, If I have something inside that wants to try New York, I should do it. Nothing is stopping me.What stopped her playing career in 2011 at the age of 25 was a persistent back injury. She had reached the No. 1 ranking in the world two years prior, in the spring of 2009 in the midst of making three Grand Slam finals in two years, losing all of them in straight sets. But she won seven of her 12 career singles titles between 2008 and 2009, and when she reached the pinnacle of the WTA rankings, she and Marat became the first brother-sister duo to achieve such a feat.Unfortunately, for me, because of my injury I had to retire early at 25, says Safina, who officially pulled the plug in 2014. I could have played more, but I dont regret it. What was done is done. I gave it 100 percent every day.Safina turned 30 in April. Shes younger than Serena and Venus Williams, younger than her childhood friend Svetlana Kuznetsova, as well as Roberta Vinci, Barbora Strycova and Sam Stosur, all of whom are ranked inside the top 25.Did she walk away too soon? Pull the plug prematurely in a sport that has increasingly skewed older? To her, the answer is simple: No. Shes at peace with the decision that shes made.I gave everything every day, she says, having ordered a hot chai tea in Russian in the lounge of MatchPoint, overlooking the nine indoor tennis courts. Honestly, every practice, every match, I was giving my everything. I have no regrets.Safina often gets grouped with fellow former world No. 1s Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic as women who ascended the rankings without winning a major title. Some say that shouldnt happen: A player getting to the No. 1 spot without a Grand Slam to his or her credit. But Safina has heard it all before.So what? she says, pouring liquid stevia into her tea. Oh my God, Ive heard that 150 times. Yes, I didnt win a Grand Slam. I had three chances. Of course I wish I could have won one. ... But this is life. Its a game. Its not the end of the world. Does it make us worse people? Worse players? It didnt happen.***A lot has happened in Safinas life since May of 2011 when she lost in the second round of the WTA stop in Madrid to Germanys Julia Goerges, the final match of her career.She went back to school in Russia and earned a degree in law. She served as a player relations figurehead for events in Moscow and Madrid. For two years, she was the director of operations for an IT firm in Moscow, going into an office every day and sitting at a desk. She hated it.There were moments that I would sit there and wish to get out of my skin and leave the office, Safina says. I wanted to be on the court. But, I had the chance to try this, and now I know that its something I dont want to do, to sit in an office all the time.And then came the opportunity to coach. Safina had met Nino Muhatasov some 10 years earlier when he was traveling with Ukrainian sisters Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko as a coach. After Muhatasov settled in New York, he launched MatchPoint with partner Dmitry Druzhinsky, building two centers that include tennis courts, lap pools, full gyms and rhythmic gymnastics programs -- a Russian staple. Theirs was the first serious offer Safina had fielded.When I found out she was coming to New York, I wanted to have her help us build a base for professional players, Muhatasov says in his spacious office off the lounge. Most players are based in Florida. But here we have everything for them: A pool, the gym, the courts. For us, Im thrilled to have Dinara here. She needs no commercial. I personally believe that she is going to be a great coach. She understands the game.Safina doesnt see her new role with Kalinina as a statement of any sort. Yes, theres a shortage of female coaches in the womens game (and in tennis overall), but thats because women are usually the ones to tend to their families, Safina says. For now, with no kids of her own, this is what her life entails.After reaching the girls final at the U.S. Open in 2014, Kalinina soared up the pro rankings. She won 39 matches -- mostly on the ITF Pro Circuit -- in 2015, to climb to a career-high ranking of No. 148 in the world toward the end of the year. A shoulder injury led to surgery, and she has played just a handful of matches in the last year. Shell be ranked No. 742 to start the 2017 season.Its a big challenge for me -- something that Ive never done, Safina says. I think I can help her. ... She reminds me so much of me when I was young. The way she answers to me is exactly the same way I answered to my coach. ... Shes tall, and for me she has a big potential.As few as three women coach in the current top 50 in the WTA, and even fewer are stars of Safinas stature. The great wave of former champions as coaches that has swept the mens game has not stuck on the womens tour -- Amelie Mauresmo, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin and Martina Navratilova had taken on gigs in the last couple of years.She is a legend, Kalinina says of Safina after a post-practice meal. But she is so easy going. Its a big pleasure working with her because she teaches me a lot of things. Mostly, I understand how I should work over 100 percent for every ball. Thats because of her professional attitude. Shes very professional. Im trying to do the same thing.***In her new New York life, Safina has a driver who picks her up each morning on Manhattans Upper West Side and takes her the 45 minutes to Coney Island. She also has a trainer she is working out with because she likes to stay fit, and says that three bikinis in a drawer at her apartment are the motivation -- a vacation in Tulum, Mexico, looms over the holidays.She has tickets to see Cate Blanchetts Broadway debut in the play The Present, and switches running routes between the Hudson River and Central Park -- the Hudson route is preferred because its flatter. She has a view of Lincoln Center and likes breakfasts at Le Pain Quotidien, the upscale French-inspired bakery chain.What Safina misses most about the tour is the friendships, notably with other Russians like Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina, Ekaterina Makarova, Elena Vesnina and others. And yes, she misses the competition, too.I do miss it, but in a good way, she explains. People say, If you were playing now..., but to me, whats done is done. I want to be back on tour as a coach, but there is no second life. We have one life. I gave it 100 percent when I was playing and I got injured. For me, it was a sign to have another part of my life. And now I want to help others get to where I was.Life is full of possibility, even as she fully steps away from a career that can seem like a lifetime ago. But why New York City? Why now?I dont know why, she says. But I love the energy here so much. Everyone here is positive. People want new challenges, new experiences. ... I have rented the apartment for one year, but I hope to stay forever. I love being here. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-John-Kuhn-Jersey/ . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Zach-Strief-Jersey/ . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Customized/ . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Thomas-Morstead-Jersey/ . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Terron-Armstead-Jersey/ .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me.The Philadelphia Flyers got unwelcome news on Thursday when they learned that team captain Claude Giroux is expected to be out of action for 5-6 weeks. Giroux underwent surgery on his index finger on Thursday after his club snapped during a round of golf in Ottawa. "Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux had successful surgery this afternoon on his right index finger performed by Dr. Katherine Boyd at the Ottawa Civic Hospital in Ottawa, Canada," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement. "Giroux was golfing today when his golf club shattered and splintered into his index finger. Although there were no broken bones, there was some damage to his extensor tendons in his fingerr.dddddddddddd He is expected to have a full recovery in 5-6 weeks." Giroux underwent surgery on both wrists in May 2012, after the Flyers were eliminated in Round 2 by the Devils. His right wrist needed to have some torn cartilage repaired, and his left needed to have bone spurs removed. The 25-year-old signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension in July following a season that saw him put up 13 goals and 35 assists through 48 games. 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