Little break
Thursday 30 August 2007
Sunday 26 August 2007
Round 1 US OPEN
MARAT WON!!!!!!!!!!! WITH 75 76(5) 76(7)! What a wonder full job! Marat will play either Wawrinka or Korolev, who are having a tough battle right now (five-setter)!
Interview:
For the same interview on video click on: http://www.usopen.org/en_US/interactive/console/mflash.html?targetLink=/media/video/INT_Marat_Safin_082907_480x360_001.flv&lang=undefined&localisIE=true&ref=www.usopen.org/en_US/news/interviews/2007-08-29/200708291188426999046.html&ts=1188503457375
For another interview from eurosport go to: http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/ukeurosport/index.php?rn=1929371&ch=1929371&ds=cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com and scroll down to tennis > click on Marat Safin.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Enough going on in that match for you to lose your cool, but you didn't. Are you pleased with the way you kept your poise today?MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, pretty much. I was a little bit nervous coming into the match 'cause the guy was playing pretty well the last two months. He did a great result. Here in the States he made the final in Indianapolis, beating Roddick in semifinal, and quarterfinals in Montréal. So he was pretty solid and confident coming here. I never play against him. He's serving well, returning well, playing great from the baseline, full of confidence. Especially it's a first round, so he has nothing to lose. Anything can happen. It was pretty good.
Q. Did you ever have anything like that happen to you on match point, the sound system going off?MARAT SAFIN: No. Hopefully it will never happen again (smiling).
Q. A lot of times in the last couple years at Grand Slams you've had tough first and second round matches, paid the price later in the tournament. Was it important to get it over and done with in three sets today?MARAT SAFIN: Well, yeah. I mean, I was counting it was going to be a tough match, four sets. Didn't know want to go five sets, but it was definitely pretty close to get there. But, like I said, it's tough opponent and I'm pleased that I am going through the first match in three sets. Hopefully the next match, pretty tough also, two pretty good players. Hopefully I can continue this way and keep it short.
Q. How important is it to know you can keep your cool? Maybe proved something to yourself mentally. MARAT SAFIN: Well, my station is not really the most pleasant right now because I'm trying to defend a lot of points. I didn't really do anything special here in the States. Some bad results, bad losses. Kind of I am trying the new coach. The only thing I have in mind is to fight and hope for the best days. Since I'm practicing already for one week and a half since I finished Cincinnati, been improving a lot. So just try to keep focus, try not to get upset and just work your way, because otherwise, it's tough for me to play and play well, especially when the confidence is not there. So you need to help yourself a little bit more. So that's why I try to be a little bit more calm. But unfortunately sometimes the balls doesn't go my way. Serving at 6-4 in the tiebreak. In the third set, he was a break up on both sets. So it's kind of tough, but you have to deal with it.
Q. Your debut was 10 years ago. You won it a couple years later. You solved the Open. Why do you think you haven't been able to solve it since then?MARAT SAFIN: Well, good question. I did the semifinal the year after. I lost to Sampras; another bad loss. But, then, I don't know, I was injured a couple of times. I didn't play. And then last year was a good year for me, but I lost 7-6 in the fifth. But of course, losing match (indiscernible) final. For some reason I was not ready for it or I was not playing really well, I was just struggling or something. Something was happening to me.
Q. Do you still look back on the 2000 final as the best match of your career?MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but who cares? It's so far in the past. It's already history. It's a long time ago. It's time to move on (smiling). I hate the people when they still live in the past and saying how great they were in, I don't know, in the past century. Who cares? I'm not this type of person. I try to move on. I try to improve and forget it. Whatever happened, happened. It was good memories, great. But you don't focus on that because there's so much going on, so many things coming to you.
Q. Do you ever think back about that tray of vodka that was rolled into the press conference after you won? Do you remember that?MARAT SAFIN: No. I was underage (smiling).
Q. Your colleagues rolled in a tray. MARAT SAFIN: They were drinking. I was just looking.
Q. You weren't drinking?MARAT SAFIN: No. Under 21. I couldn't (smiling).
Q. If you don't want to look back on it, do you look forward, see yourself doing that again? Do you see yourself winning this tournament?MARAT SAFIN: We prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It's kind of this way I'm looking forward.
Q. What is "preparing for the worst"? MARAT SAFIN: Because the worst is I will never win. Hoping for the best that there is a chance to win. So I guess whenever I have the opportunity I will take it, but unfortunately they're not coming. I'm not getting any further than the third round.For me to make quarterfinal, it's a huge, huge deal lately. So kind of not expecting anything from this tournament and nothing from this year. But, if I -- well, at least I started to play better. I think Hernan is doing a great job. He explain to me what happened. Everything what happened I think is due to my knee injury I had to deal with for two years. But basically I hope that I will have a chance to win another Grand Slam. It's tougher and tougher, but why not? There is a chance. If Federer will lose to somebody, somebody will withdraw, Nadal will have something happen to him, the door is open (smiling).
Q. You mentioned people who sort of live in the past. Do you think that happens a lot in tennis?MARAT SAFIN: Well, why you asking me this question? Because I said something before?
Q. Yes. MARAT SAFIN: No, no, I didn't really find. Thank God I didn't meet these kind of people, and I hope there is none of them in tennis because otherwise it would be pretty disappointing to explain the people of our age how beautiful was tennis like 30 years ago, for example.Every part of life, it's a new era. We are living in 2007. Who cares about -- with all due respect, we respect the explayers that have been great for tennis. But that's it. They're good. Great history. They won. Good for them. But to explain that it was better, was more interesting, it's nonsense. I guess people are moving on. They really appreciate that and respect that, I hope. I never met such a person, and I hope I will never meet.
Q. Will it matter to you 30 years from now when somebody says, Marat Safin won the US Open and somebody says, I don't care? MARAT SAFIN: Who cares? I will not care. I had been doing something else in my life and hopefully I will be happy. Also Henman is retiring. He has been great for tennis. Even though the English press was not very nice to him, I think he did very well for the English people and English tennis, because there is none of the players. Investing so many millions and they have only Henman and Murray. That's it. So I think he did pretty decent career. But, still, who will care about him in three years?
Q. His children. MARAT SAFIN: Exactly. That's the only people that care: Family.
Q. What is your motivation level right now to be the best player you can be?MARAT SAFIN: At maximum, because otherwise I won't be here. It's not like I'm struggling with the money. It's not like I need it. I'm here just because I want to play and I'm enjoying playing. I'm enjoying fighting. I'm enjoying what I'm doing.
Q. Are you motivated to play?MARAT SAFIN: Because I like to travel, you think (smiling)? Even though I'm travelling first class and business. But, still, to be on the court, to run around, to have this feeling well after you win a match, is think is the most beautiful feeling in the world you're going to get. Afterwards, when someone is retiring, I think you are going to miss this feeling. So I think it kind of attracts you. It's what is moving you. And you still want to win matches and matches, so I think the motivation is there.
Q. Short of an injury to Nadal or Federer, how do you break into that rivalry? How does another player crack in?MARAT SAFIN: Djokovic is there. Well, you have to be consistent. You have to have the opportunities. You have to be ready. You have to be motivated. You have to be hungry. You have to be really well guided with the coach and the people around, and then take your opportunities. It's pretty simple, but at the same time it's pretty tough because it's tough to be consistent during the year. It's only two people that can manage to do that: Nadal and Federer. To be in the same train with them you have to be really focused and you have to sacrifice a lot of things and you have to be doing semifinals and finals every week.And, of course, you have to choose the right calendar to play. That's the work of the coach. I think the coach, he plays a big part in it to guide the player, especially when he's young. It's a tough job.
Q. Many people have always felt that you could possibly have achieved more. Is that sacrifice too much for some people?MARAT SAFIN: Well, Agassi could have won 20 Grand Slams, for example. Sampras should have won a little bit more. There's always going to be -- Rios, for example. He should have won 10 Grand Slams, but it didn't happen. If I will tell you the situation I was in when I was 17 and I had no money, I wouldn't be here sitting. So I think I did pretty well from where I'm coming from. I'm not disappointed with my career. Of course, would be greater if I would win the two finals that I lost in the Australian Open. And, of course, it would be great to win at Roland Garros. But the circumstances that was a desperate of time, I think I did pretty well. So I don't have any regrets.
Q. What advice did you give Gumy when he decided to be your coach? MARAT SAFIN: Well, he called me, because I had nobody to travel with, to come here, because Alexander, he couldn't come. I was pretty disappointed because my tennis wasn't at my peak. So give it a shot. Why not?I think he understands. He understood actually, and he explained to me what happened because I was kind of lost and I couldn't really understand why it was happening to me. I felt like tennis has improved so much that the players are much faster, but it's not. It's just because some things I would have to change on the court, small things, just the movement because of my knee injury that I was suffering and was getting worse and worse and worse because I was trying to protect my leg. Anyway, it's details. But he understood and he explained. So I think it's on the right direction and hopefully we'll continue this way.
Q. What has been the biggest enemy in your career: Your mind or your body?MARAT SAFIN: Well, I think my body. The two injuries, because I was playing great tennis coming into Australian Open 2003 when I had problems with my wrist and 2005 when I went in Australian Open and got injured. Was getting worse, worse and worse, and I didn't know why it was happening to me till I couldn't play anymore. At that time I was playing great tennis. It kind of broke the rhythm of my career. I could have achieved more, but I didn't.
Q. What was your reaction to the investigation of Davydenko? Have you spoken with him? MARAT SAFIN: I don't care about what the people. It's their business. I don't want to be involved with that. I want to be outside of that. I don't want to hear the stories. I don't want to know anything. I'm not really interested.If Davydenko, he has to answer some questions into his life, the life of ATP, I'm going to stay out of it.
Q. This is the only major with a breaker in the fifth set. Do you think that should change? MARAT SAFIN: Of course, it should change. Of course. They should've changed last year. If I win a couple of them I would be not 25, I would be 15. This was a huge change. But unfortunately I lost all of them. Hopefully it will not happen again. Half of it is a lottery. Of course, when you don't have a confidence it's tough to win then because it's just a matter of one, two points, and the nerves of course are jumping a little bit more than a usual set.
Q. You won a challenge today. Do you still disbelieve the camera thing?MARAT SAFIN: Hawk Eye?
Q. Yes. MARAT SAFIN: What happened with it?
Q. You have never really agreed it was accurate before. MARAT SAFIN: No, well, it's much better than not to have it for sure because the serves are going pretty fast. It's pretty difficult for the chair umpire to make a good decision. You're taking such responsibility. Imagine it happens 6-All in a tiebreak in the fifth set, you want to kill the guy. If he makes a mistake and you know he is making mistake, but at least you have a chance to see it and a chance to prove it, be more relieved.
Q. So when you see it now, you're believing it more than you used to?MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, much more. Of course, I think they've been improving. It's getting better and better, more accurate. FastScripts by ASAP Sports
Pictures: Chance98 made terrific photo's of the US Open 2007 so have a look.. great really GREAT pictures of Marat there as well! Enjoy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/61096912@N00
Article:
Safin Outduels Rising Canadian Dancevic
By Neil Schlecht
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Marat Safin, the 2000 US Open winner and former world No. 1, withstood a spirited challenge from Frank Dancevic, a Canadian qualifier playing in his first US Open, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6. Safin, the volatile Russian with a game as imposing—but also as erratic—as anyone on tour, kept his on-court outbursts to a minimum in advancing to the second round.Dancevic, 22, came out of nowhere earlier this summer to reach the final at Indianapolis after shocking Andy Roddick in the semis. Previously, the Canadian had never won back-to-back matches at the pro level. In the Master’s series event in Montreal, Dancevic’s home, he reached the final before falling in three sets to Rafael Nadal. With that run, Dancevic reached a career-high No. 67 in the rankings. The first set proceeded on serve until Safin, the No. 25 seed, earned break points late at 5-5. Dancevic, though, responded each time with service winners to get out of the hole. The Russian finally broke with a deep return that Dancevic couldn’t control, and Safin confidently closed out the set with a pair of aces.Dancevic is a graceful, even occasionally artistic player fond of a sliced one-handed backhand and carved angles, but he possesses few big weapons. His gently stroked shots sounded soft as they left his racquet, in contrast to the constant thud coming from the 6-foot-5 Safin’s stick.In the second set, Safin committed a string of silly, if not totally unexpected, errors, including two double faults, to fall behind 4-2. With Dancevic serving for the set at 5-3, Safin suddenly cobbled together an aggressive return game to break back and force a tiebreak. The big Russian began to lean into, and on, his serve even more to win big points, and he eeked out the tiebreak, 7-5. In the third set, the predictable ups and downs of a Safin match were realized. Up an early break, Safin appeared to be headed toward the locker room. But nothing is ever easy with Marat, and he relaxed and let Dancevic back into the set—and very nearly the match. Safin handed his opponent two breaks of serve and was staring down a fourth set. Keeping things interesting, Safin saved two set points, one with a blistering forehand return down the line, and he broke right back at 5-6, forcing another tiebreak. Safin closed out the match with an ace, his 19th of the match. Safin's 2007 has been exceedingly patchy, even by the Russian’s frustrating standards. He has reached just one semifinal, in Las Vegas, and was bounced in the first rounds at both the Australian and French Opens and the third round at Wimbledon. While still capable of massive, penetrating groundstrokes, Safin of late has frequently ended points with wild misfires, unbefitting a player of his outside talent. Though not a top seed, Marat has a pretty favorable draw at this, his eighth US Open, and the possibility of his meeting up with Rafael Nadal in the semifinals is tantalizing. But as tennis fans long ago learned, few things are certain when it comes to Safin.
Wednesday 22 August 2007
Draw
Main Draw Men Singles
Roger Federer SUI (1) vs.QUALIFIER
QUALIFIER vs.QUALIFIER
QUALIFIER vs.QUALIFIER
John Isner USA vs.Jarkko Nieminen FIN (26)
Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP (21) vs. Feliciano Lopez ESP
Robert Kendrick USA vs.Igor Andreev RUS
Donald Young USA vs.Chris Guccione AUS
Sergio Roitman ARG vs.Richard Gasquet FRA (13)
Tomas Berdych CZE (9) vs.Marc Gicquel FRA
Simone Bolelli ITA vs.Julien Benneteau FRA
Gilles Simon FRA vs.QUALIFIER
Fernando Verdasco ESP vs.Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA (22)
Ivo Karlovic CRO (32) vs.Arnaud Clement FRA
Thomas Johansson SWE vs.Nicolas Massu CHI
Jose Acasuso ARG vs.Martin Vassallo Arguello ARG
Justin Gimelstob USA vs.Andy Roddick USA (5)
Nikolay Davydenko RUS (4) vs.Jesse Levine USA
Nicolas Kiefer GER vs.Vincent Spadea USA
Peter Luczak AUS vs.Luis Horna PER
Alex Kuznetsov USA vs.Nicolas Almagro ESP (28)
Andy Murray GBR (19) vs.QUALIFIER
Juan-Pablo Guzman ARG vs.Jonas Bjorkman SWE
Dominik Hrbaty SVK vs.Hyung-Taik Lee KOR
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo ESP vs.Guillermo Canas ARG (14)
Tommy Haas GER (10) vs.QUALIFIER
Benjamin Becker GER vs.QUALIFIER
Paul Goldstein USA vs.Sebastien Grosjean FRA
Max Mirnyi BLRvs.Marcos Baghdatis CYP (18)
Filippo Volandri ITA (29) vs.Michael Llodra FRA
Stefan Koubek AUT vs.Sam Querrey USA
Fabrice Santoro FRA vs.Albert Montanes ESP
Michael Russell USA vs.James Blake USA (6)
Tommy Robredo ESP (8) vs.QUALIFIER
Mardy Fish USA vs.QUALIFIER
QUALIFIER vs.Michael Berrer GER
Ernests Gulbis LAT vs.Potito Starace ITA (30)
Carlos Moya ESP (17) vs.QUALIFIER
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ESP vs.Igor Kunitsyn RUS
Mariano Zabaleta ARG vs.Philipp Kohlschreiber GER
Nicolas Devilder FRA vs.Mikhail Youzhny RUS (11)
Lleyton Hewitt AUS (16) vs.Amer Delic USA
Andreas Seppi ITA vs.Agustin Calleri ARG
QUALIFIER vs.Nicolas Lapentti ECU
Edouard Roger-Vasselin FRA vs.Juan Monaco ARG (23)
Jurgen Melzer AUT (31) vs.Diego Hartfield ARG
Juan Martin Del Potro ARG vs.Nicolas Mahut FRA
Carlos Berlocq ARG vs.Radek Stepanek CZE
Mario Ancic CRO vs.Novak Djokovic SRB (3)
Fernando Gonzalez CHI (7) vs.Teimuraz Gabashvili RUS
Robby Ginepri USA vs.Olivier Rochus BEL
Stanislas Wawrinka SUI vs.Evgeny Korolev RUS
QUALIFIER vs.Marat Safin RUS (25)
Juan Ignacio Chela ARG (20) vs.Michael McClune USA
Danai Udomchoke THA vs.Wayne Odesnik USA
QUALIFIER vs.Gael Monfils FRA
Kristof Vliegen BEL vs.Ivan Ljubicic CRO (12)
David Ferrer ESP (15) vs.Florian Mayer GER
Florent Serra FRA vs.Werner Eschauer AUT
Xavier Malisse BEL vs.Kristian Pless DEN
Ivan Navarro Pastor ESP vs.David Nalbandian ARG (24)
Dmitry Tursunov RUS (27) vs.Tim Henman GBR
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA vs.Oscar Hernandez ESP
Janko Tipsarevic SRB vs.Ryan Sweeting USAAlun
Jones AUS vs.Rafael Nadal ESP (2)
News and photo's
From the official website: Marat is travelling to New York today,after a long, hard week of practice in Miami.Marat is delighted with his co-operation with his new coach, Hernan Gumy,and both parties have decided to continue their working relations until the end of this year.Hopefully,a long term agreement will result in great results!!!
And for some great photo's, slideshows and video's of Cincinnati, have a look here and enjoy!
http://safin-faniac.blogspot.com/
Monday 20 August 2007
US Open 2007
US Open
Place: Flushing Meadows, NY
Date: Aug. 27-Sept. 9, 2007
Draw Size: 128
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: US$7,950,000
Tournament Director: Arlen Kantarian
Ticket Hotline: 1-914-696-7200
Website: www.usopen.org
Round/Points/Money
W 1000 $1,200,000
F 700 $600,000
SF 450 $280,000
QF 250 $140,000
R16 150 $72,000
R32 75 $42,000
R64 35 $26,500
W 1000 $1,200,000
F 700 $600,000
SF 450 $280,000
QF 250 $140,000
R16 150 $72,000
R32 75 $42,000
R64 35 $26,500
R128 5 $16,500
History of the US Open
The US Open that more than 650,000 fans will enjoy this year at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center bears, in many ways, little resemblance to the tournament started 126 years ago. It has evolved from an exclusive men's singles and doubles tournament in 1881 to a two-week sports and entertainment extravaganza, changing its name from the U.S Championships to the US Open and its location from Rhode Island to Pennsylvania to its current home in Flushing, N.Y. The five major championships that constitute the US Open—men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles-grew from a single men's tournament held as an entertainment diversion for high society at the turn of the 20th century. The first U.S. National Singles Championship for men was held at the Newport Casino in Newport, R.I., in August 1881, the beginning of a 34-year run for Newport as the center of tennis in the United States. Only clubs that were members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association were permitted to enter the initial tournament. Men's doubles was played in conjunction with men's singles at the Newport Casino for the event's first seven years, 1881- 1886, before the U.S. Championships grew and spread out to other locales. In 1887, six years after the men's nationals were instituted as an annual event, the first official U.S. Women's National Singles Championship was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, joined by women's doubles in 1889. The U.S. Mixed Doubles Championship officially began in 1892 and was played in conjunction with the women's singles and women's doubles until 1921, when it was combined with the men's doubles program of the U.S. National Championships. The five major events of the U.S. National Championships/US Open have been contested at nine different locations since the event's inception in Newport. All five finally came together when the women's doubles tournament moved to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y., at the advent of the Open Era in 1968, and all five moved to the US Open's current location, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., in 1978. Overall, the West Side Tennis Club has hosted the most championships, 210, with the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center standing at 145 through 2006. Men's doubles has been played at the greatest number of sites (eight), while women's singles has been the least traveled, having only been hosted by the Philadelphia Cricket Club, the West Side Tennis Club and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. A total of $100,000 was offered by the USTA to the field of 96 men and 63 women who entered the men's and women's singles and doubles at the 1968 US Open. Today, the US Open offers more than $19.6 million to a field of more than 600 men and women, including qualifying. In 2004, the US Open added the US Open Series Bonus Challenge, potentially pushing the 2007 US Open prize money to $22.2 million.
Marat's best results were back when he, of course, won the tournament in 2000 and in 2001 he reached the semi's.
Draw will be announced on Wednesday, August 22.
TV-SCHEDULE: http://www.usopen.org/en_US/about/tv_us.html
AUDIO & VIDEO: http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/media/index.html
Sunday 12 August 2007
Cincinnati Tennis Tournament 1st Round
Marat lost to Nicolas Kiefer on Monday, with 36 67(1). It was a terrible match and for those who saw it: you know what I mean! I think he just had a bad day. Nothing more nothing less.
Pictures of the match:
Interview:
CINCINNATI, OHIO
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Last week you were quite encouraged by some things and things seemed to be going right. What happened?
MARAT SAFIN: Didn't feel right on the court. Nothing really happened. I don't know. Then that's it.
Q. And was it difficult to adjust to the speed of the court or anything like that?
MARAT SAFIN: The ball is going faster than Montreal and I couldn't find myself on the court and the balls are flying so couldn't hit winner because I was not secure with my shots. That's what happens.
Q. Do these kind of defeats make any difference to you? With a match like this, can you just write it off as a bad day?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. It's the best thing to do. Wasn't really even a match. Nothing to compare with. The match is not all I think about because it was everything was going wrong at the beginning of the first set. He made me a really fast break and started to get more complicated and then just forget about this one.
Q. When you were younger were you ever a ball boy?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah.
Q. At the Kremlin Cup?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah.
Q. What are your memories of that?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, the first you watch the professional tennis it's a little bit different feeling to play yourself. I play at the level of, I don't know, being one of the best in Russia. To be able to see how far the ball is going, basically where you're aiming, who you want to become. It's where you want to be. It was a big opportunity to see from close how they play tennis, because from the stands it's a little bit different than from the court.
Q. Did you do it one year or more?
MARAT SAFIN: Twice, I think.
Q. Do you remember the years by any chance?
MARAT SAFIN: '90, '92 maybe.
Q. Do you have any memorable matches, any memorable experiences, players that you looked up to?
MARAT SAFIN: Not really, because it was I just remember the names. It was Bjorkman. It was same people that I started with basically. It's pretty funny.
Q. Have you talked to Jonas about that?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah.
Q. What does he think?
MARAT SAFIN: Nothing much. What he going to say? Well done.
Q. Is it more disappointing or frustrating for you when you have a day like this when you can't seem to find your game?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but so many days in my life, so not like I'm going to kill myself and feel bad for next month and a half. It happened, it happened. It's not like it's last day of my life. It's not the match that I will remember for the rest much my life, so who cares. Play like terribly and so that's it. Life moves on.
Q. You were playing better the second set. Did you feel like maybe you had a chance to get back in it?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, kind of. Small chance. Didn't take it. Timing was all off, and it's disappointing but it's okay. Just one match, tennis match.
Q. Where do go from here?
MARAT SAFIN: Miami. So it's not a bad idea, huh, to lose the first round and go to Miami?
Q. Earlier in the summer you were talking about making a conscious effort to really go for it up to the US Open. How do you feel your game is overall?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, it's just -- I start to explain to you guys what happened. It's just a very long story. Basically what happened is the knee injury basically destroyed my game, so I have to break everything what I been doing for last one year and a half since I came back from the injury and try to rebuild my game, what I used to play before the injury. Because it kind of basically took me away for such a long time, I had to start to make many different movements on the court to protect my left knee. And then use the left knee in the backhand, forehand, all the movements. I start to protect it, and basically end up with a game I never played before. So now I have to change everything back to older memories. It's quite a few months to be able to find your game back, and that's why I have a new coach. He realized and looked at me and said, Listen, this is not the way you used to play. I guess it's because of that, that, and that. It will take a couple months to get used to it and then you will see the difference. That's what we're doing. Don't really care about the results right now. Who cares? Doesn't matter if you are 24 or 35, it's the same thing. Just I'm not aiming to be there. I'm aiming to be in the top 20. If it's not this year it's going to happen next year. If not next year, there's many years to come. You have to enjoy on the court and not to run around and try to save and scramble and go all over the court. It's not really tennis that I would like to play.
Q. Are you feeling 100% now in terms of the injury?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. But somebody had to go from outside what happened to my game, because I really felt like I'm losing it and eventually I lost my game. I couldn't hit winners and he said I was not moving on the court the right way, and that's why all the shots disappear. One thing went to another thing and then of course it made a big problem, and that's why I have to break everything down and start building all over again the tennis. So I guess for next year I'll be okay.
Q. Earlier in your career do you think you would have been more upset by a loss like this? Because people know you a very emotional, passionate player. Like you said, this is not life or death, but do you think when you were younger you would have taken it harder than now?
MARAT SAFIN: Why you want to know that for?
Q. I just meant is it different for you now because you're an older player?
MARAT SAFIN: Of course. I have the experience. If I would find myself in the same situation when I'm twenty years old and I don't know how to -- I couldn't win the match, for example, for six months and my position is 18 or 25 in the world and defending all my points going into the fall, of course I would be much more disappointed than right now. But right now I have pretty good years of my career and a lot of experience, so I just have a bad moments and good moments still to come I know. It's just a tennis match. You know, I've been there for two hours of my life today, so I have another basically six hours to go to sleep. Could you imagine if I start to think about the bad hours on the court and ruin my day?
Q. I have a strange question: Have you started to wear shorts with no pockets?
MARAT SAFIN: No, no, no, it's just the pockets are too small.
Q. So that's why you take the ball from --
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, yeah.
Q. Doesn't that break your rhythm?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, it's not comfortable, really. Their falling down. So I just have to do it.
Q. Do you feel your knee any time after the match?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, after the long match and you've been running a lot so of course I have -- it's disturbing a little bit because it's sore, which is normal. It's a little tendonitis, so I do the procedure: Put some ice and stretch the leg and typical thing I'm doing for one year and a half, so I'm used to it. But it's much less than it used to be before when I came back from the injury, so now at least everything is all right. I can run and feel 100% on the court, which is not bad.
Q. Do you recuperate over the night?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, yeah. It's okay.
Q. Am I right in saying that the US Open is one of your favorite tournaments, if not your favorite?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. I have also my issues with this tournament.
Q. But what are your realistic ambitions this year if you're thinking about next year being fully fit?
MARAT SAFIN: Just go there also. Not put too much pressure on yourself and not to worry the ranking and let's see what's going to happen the first round and then who's going to be the second round. It's really not going to happen, anything great, this year. I don't have any expectations. It's the best thing to do actually, and I go match by match. Then if everything goes well, I start to get the confidence and then maybe I get to the second week I can be dangerous. But it's still a long way and a long process and really far away from my confidence and my best game, so let's keep it this way.
Q. Are you still enjoying playing?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. Of course otherwise I would not be here. I would be somewhere in the south of France on the beach, or an yacht.
Q. When you were a ball boy did you work for Rosset?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah.
Q. Did you joke about that when he was coaching you?
MARAT SAFIN: No. Nobody really like -- this conversation doesn't go too far actually.
Q. No?
MARAT SAFIN: No, not really. Not really. Nobody -- I guess it's maybe uncomfortable situation for them and for me, but it doesn't go bar far. Because actually they never remember you as a ball boy.
End of FastScripts
Tuesday 7 August 2007
Round 2
Marat lost to Rafael Nadal with 67(4) 06... Too bad cause he had 2 setpoints in the first set! Well still we can be proud.. a good first set, where he probably gave it all!
Interview after walkover (from http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=44723 )
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Marat.
Q. Have you had many walkovers in your career? Can you think of any? MARAT SAFIN: I wish it would happen a little more often.
Q. Have you had any? MARAT SAFIN: No, this is probably the second one. I think it was somewhere else something happened, but I don't remember.
Q. Is it better or worse that you had the walkover before you have to play Rafael? MARAT SAFIN: No, much better. Soderling, he's a tough player, plays well. Better than to run around the court two, three hours try to beat him, then come up tomorrow with a good game. So I prefer this way.
Q. You've been playing quite a lot this summer, haven't you? MARAT SAFIN: Also. So an extra day off, I think it's a good thing.
Q. How about playing Rafa? Never played him before. MARAT SAFIN: No, never. I'm looking forward. We'll see how it's going to happen, what's going to happen. I don't have many expectations. I'm just play my match. He's the favorite. He's playing well. Let's just keep it this way.
Q. A guy like that, that you've seen play all these years, you never played him, do you have a natural curiosity, some ideas how you would play against him? MARAT SAFIN: Not really. I don't really care about this. Whenever the opportunity comes comes. So finally it came. But I was not really looking for it and try to out of curiosity play against him, not really. He's a very good player. I don't think you are really looking for that experience.
Q. You're not looking for that experience? MARAT SAFIN: No (smiling). Q. Like when guys play against you? MARAT SAFIN: When the guys played against me before, yes, was different story. Not now (smiling).
Q. Can you go in as an underdog with nothing to lose? MARAT SAFIN: What I have to lose? He's the one second seeded. He's the one who is fighting for No. 1 this year. I'm not the one. He's favorite in this tournament. So for me it's another opportunity, another chance. Anything can happen, of course. I'm not going there and tank the match. I'm going to try to win it, of course. But I'm definitely not expecting anything great out of it. I don't want to have extra pressure on myself that I should make at least a good match. So I don't really care. If it's 6-2, 6-2 or 7-6, 7-6, doesn't make any difference for me.
Q. If you win, that would boost your confidence. MARAT SAFIN: "If, if." If many things would be different way, many changes would be in this world. So let's keep it this way.
Q. How do you feel about your game right now? MARAT SAFIN: Well, been a long summer. I had my matches, had my bad matches, everything happened. Actually, everything happened but nothing happened. Two quarterfinals. I didn't really play my best game. Didn't really play for -- I didn't impress myself with my game. So was just fighting around and trying to win in tough matches, finishing 1:00 in the morning in Washington, playing next day against Monfils, playing bad again. So nothing really extraordinary.
Q. What to you make of the gambling investigation going on? MARAT SAFIN: Not for me, man. Not for me. Q. Not for you? MARAT SAFIN: I don't care. They can do whatever they want. I don't want to be involved in any of it. I don't want to make any comments. I don't care.
Q. Do you feel like the ATP is doing what it needs to do? MARAT SAFIN: I don't care, man. ATP can do whatever they want. I'm out of it.
Q. You don't care that it possibly could be viewed as hurting the integrity of the sport? MARAT SAFIN: I don't care. It's not my problem, that's for sure. I'm here more for myself than for the ATP. The ATP is full of people who gets paid a lot of money, big bucks, and they're the ones who have to think, not me. I'm here to play my tennis, win some matches, and whatever happens happens. I'm not going to make any comments. They have enough smart people to investigate and look for it, to the right thing. I'm not the one to ask.
Q. Does it surprise you to hear that kind of thing might happen in tennis? MARAT SAFIN: Again, I don't care.
Q. A few years ago you were giving your sister a hard time. MARAT SAFIN: I don't remember that. Q. In Australia. MARAT SAFIN: Okay, so (smiling)?
Q. Now is she giving you a hard time? MARAT SAFIN: She can't.
Q. Why not? MARAT SAFIN: Because a lot of things depends on me when you're out of tennis life, so she better be good for me.
Q. You said this has been an unremarkable season for you. How do you feel about that? Do you feel frustrated? Is it just kind of a depressing thing? MARAT SAFIN: Well, first of all, why I have to be frustrated? In the worst scenario, the worst scenario, which would be the normal scenario of my life, I would be a coach in some club in Russia, in Moscow, that nobody would even think about me. I would have probably a few kids and wife, drive every morning at 9:00 in the morning to give lessons. And look at me now. Not bad for 10 years of career. Instead of that, I'm alone. I'm playing my best tennis. I'm doing the things that I love to do. I have no family. I'm enjoying it. So you know, I was lucky to catch the train. I was lucky to take the opportunity the people they gave me. Why I have to be frustrated? I have everything what I need. I have a good life. I'm flying business, first class. I have my friends coming to watch me. When I go to Moscow, I'm staying at a nice place, nice area, good neighborhood, nice cars. So everything is great. So why I have to be frustrated?
Q. You've expressed frustration in the past when you haven't played as well as you want to. MARAT SAFIN: Is different thing. Of course, you want to do a little better than you are doing. Of course, instead of being 25, you want to be maybe top 10, for example. But after all, if you thinking the big picture, it doesn't really matter. If you enjoy what you're doing, the good times this will come. If you do the proper job, of course with the years it's a little bit more difficult to push yourself to do that. If you want to play tennis, and I want to play tennis, I really want to try, I think everything can come back and everything can be improved. Especially that I didn't make any great results, I'm still 20 in the world. Is not really bad. It's one small step by winning a couple of difficult matches, make a quarterfinal here, a semifinal in a big tournament, you are already not 20, you are already almost top 10. Then the people, they say, Oh, he's back. But what made the difference? Just one, two points in a tough match, that's it. It's two matches, that's it. But frustrating? Never.
Q. You're kind of lucky to have caught the train without the wife and kids on it. MARAT SAFIN: That's for sure not for me yet. I prefer to play tennis and be alone than to be working in a tennis club from 9:00 to 9:00 and having two kids to feed and a wife that is never happy. Sounds familiar or not?
Q. You're assuming a lot. MARAT SAFIN: Sounds familiar for some of us, huh? End of FastScripts
Good luck tomorrow Marat and let the beast come out!
VAMOS and DAVAI!
Sunday 5 August 2007
Rogers Masters, Montreal
The Tournament
Place: Montreal, Canada
Date: August 6-12, 2007
Draw Size: 56
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $2,450,000
Tournament Director: Grant Connell
Ticket Hotline:1-800/398-8761
Website: http://www.rogerscupmen.com/
Since 1881, a bevy of tennis stars have blessed Canadians with their impressive talent. The world famous Canadian Open, the oldest ongoing tournament after Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, continues to present a first grade organization. From Toronto to Montreal every other year, the Rogers Cup is an important leg of the ATP Masters Series. With $2.45 million dollars U.S. prize money, this event attracts the world's best tennis players.
The impressive list of past champions on the Canadian stop of the professional tennis circuit bear such legendary names as John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer. At the inauguration of Toronto's Rexall Centre in 2004, 41 of the 50 best men's players in the world played for a record Toronto crowd of 165,508 spectators. In 2006, the Rogers Cup enjoyed the best attendance in its history, attracting 173, 484 spectators to Montreal’s Uniprix Stadium. Not only is that number a Canadian record, but it is also a world record for a week-long tennis tournament.
Past Champions - Singles (Marat has won this tournament once in 2000)
Prizemoney (round, rankingpoints, money)W 500 $400,000
F 350 $200,000
SF 225 $100,000
QF 125 $49,000
R16 75 $25,000
R32 35 $14,000
R64 5 $7,000
Draw: http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=http://www.atptennis.com/1/posting/2007/421/mds.pdf
OOP: http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=http://www.atptennis.com/1/posting/2007/421/op.pdf
Friday 3 August 2007
Quarterfinal
Yaay! Marat reached the quarters:)!
He'll now face Gael Monfils (FRA) who is currently ranked 54. They have only met once, which was last year in Cincinnati (hard court) and Monfils won that one with 64 75.
To compare their YTD-Stats: http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/players/headtohead/popYTDMatchStats.asp?plyr1=S741&plyr2=MC65
Marat lost to Gael Monfils in a two-setter with 36 57.
Go Marat:)
News Updates
Hi everyone:)!
I'm back from my holidays! I hope you could do without me for a while hehe! At least I have some news updates, incase you missed them!
- Marat has changed coach. Volkov and Marat descided that Volkov just didn't fit in Marat's schedule.. Volkov has little time! (check this out, for Marat's words about it: http://www.maratsafin.com/content.php?did=10&aid=c4265c49a948da25128744ffcedff8d4)
- Marat reached the quarters in LA, but lost there to Hyung-Taik Lee (KOR).
- And currently, Marat is playing in Washington DC and also reached here the quarters! He won yesterday's match against Robin Haase (NED) with 75 67(2) 75. He will now face Gael Monfils. For pics of Rd. 3, check below!
Pics of Safin vs. Haase
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