Wimbledon '08

Lena

Safin in great shape for SW19
Russian remains wary of tough draw

Last Updated 21st June 2008

Marat Safin says he is in great shape ahead of Wimbledon but he admits the draw has been tough on him.

The former world number one completed his preparations for the tournament with two exhibitions matches at the Fortis Tennis Classic at Hurlingham, losing to both Tommy Haas and Richard Gasquet.

Safin has never been comfortable on the lawns of the All England Club, something he needs to overcome if he is to make any progress next week.

The first round draw has paired him with Italian clay-courter Fabio Fognini, but should he progress he faces the daunting prospect of a second round meeting with Novak Djokovic.

"I feel great, unfortunately I don't have a good draw but physically I'm perfect," Safin said. (tjaaaa, a że od kiedy ? Rolling Eyes

)

"But let's see how it goes because always the first two matches are really tough. Everybody is really nervous and everybody really wants to win so it all depends who reacts to it best."

Asked about a potential semi-final meeting with five-time defending champion Roger Federer, he joked: "I would be happy beating Djokovic in the second round!

"My position is to go match by match. I haven't been playing really well so every match is an important one.

"For me it's tough to play on grass because I don't feel comfortable enough to perform well. My best result here was the quarter-finals in 2001.

"It's easier for shorter players to move around on grass than for taller players, because it's really slippery and you can fall down at any moment and you feel that you are running on ice. So it's not really comfortable for taller players.

"But it's a great tournament, the facilities are great and everything is improving every year. Unfortunately we can't do anything about the weather. (a temu na starość sie pozmieniało czy jak ?)

"You can't improve the schedule, it's the same for everybody. You cannot fight against nature, if it rains then you just have to deal with that."

s.

że tak powiem zapomniał dodac,iż ŻARŁO mu sie jeszcze tam nie podoba xD

Lena

Nie no Sanki, zgodnie ze zmianą frontu żarło też jest ok.
Wogóle Wimbledon stał sie cudny !! Shocked

Kati

A mnie ta optymistyczna wersja Marata na trawce zaczyna przerażać. Pewnych rzeczy w życiu sie nie lubi, nie da sie do nich przyzwyczaić i zmienić podejście ot, tak sobie, już!, a temu nagle sie wszystko odkręca i hasło: Wimbledon nie wywołuje już u niego myśli o wątpliwej przyjemności gry w Londynie i mąk z żarełkiem, jak zauważyłyście, tylko ogólnie mówi, że jest zajefajnie, cudnie i w ogóle... Confused

Zmienia charakterek, czy cóś...? A mówił, że to niemożliwe...

Za dużo trawy, Marat, Zdecydowanie. Wink

s.

na starośc mu odbija xD xD xD

...albo liczy że jak sie troche podliże to ktoś Novaka po cichu skontuzjuje i sie maracio prześlizgnie dalej w drabince Wink

))

ADHD

Hehehe chodzaca angielska etykieta sie z Maraciątka zrobila Very Happy

Jakos nie wierze.... niewatpliwie cos kombinuje Very Happy

Lena

Jaka tam angielska xDDD
Musiał dobrego browara sie napić, że takie teksty puścił :]
I w polubienie pastwiska to ja w zyciu nie uwierze Wink

Kati

A moze udzielał wywiadu po meczu Rosji z Mandarynkami, w skrajnej ekstazie, i gadał trzy po trzy z radosci... Laughing

Karolka

rzeczywiescie facet gada od rzeczy... Marat skarbie nie pal wiecej zadnych ziólek bo Ci na mózg pada Wink

Lena

ze strony Łymbledonu:

"Marat Safin breezed into the second round of the men’s singles with a convincing straight sets win over Italy’s Fabio Fognini.

The 28-year-old Russian produced a dazzling display, polishing off the first two sets in 49 minutes for the loss of only three games.

Safin, who is famed for abusing racquets, kept his cool throughout, breaking only his 21-year-old opponent’s service games on an all-too frequent basis.

A mixture of sizzling drives, crosscourt winners and consistently good serving left Fognini, ranked 86 in the world, looking bemused and slow around the court in the first two sets.

It is a performance Safin should be proud of . The sparkle that helped the Russian reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2001 was evident today, marking a potential start to the end of his dry spell ."

i komentarz z tennis channel:

"Marat Safin is ranked 77 now - that's way too much talent to be down there..
I see Marat a lot practicing, putting a lot of extra time, and if he gets his confidence back, he will get to a respectable ranking. I think I heard him say that if he doesn't, he might retire at the end of a year"

s.

ulalalala Jaśnie Pan odejdzie na emeryturke?w sumie w to nie wierze.coś mi sie wydaje,że nie usiedzi na dupsku spokojnie ale jesli już jednak to mam nadzieje,że rozkreci jakiś fajny i poważny biznes.w ostateczności jak nie bedzie miał co zrobić z kasą to może zainwestować w "mój" klub bo potrzebujemy sponsora na nowy prysznic i toalety xD xD hehe

Lena

Q. Did you start to become a grass court player suddenly?

MARAT SAFIN: By winning one match?

Q. An important match.

MARAT SAFIN: For me it was important, but also I took advantage that he was under a lot of pressure because he's fighting for No. 1. So I need to take advantage of that.

Q. How did you play?

MARAT SAFIN: I played well because I think the courts, they has been getting slower and slower throughout the years. So it's not any more like they used to be like eight years ago. It was really fast, and now you can play from the baseline and nobody even getting close to the net.

Q. So you're not surprised by yourself?

MARAT SAFIN: Well, I just had to do what I had to do: serve well and try to stay with him. And also he didn't impress me with his game today. I could read his serve. I could return. I could stay with him from the baseline, and that's it.

Q. How would you rate your game today on a scale of 1 to 10?

MARAT SAFIN: I mean, it's tough. I didn't play great for a long time. I don't remember how does it feel.

I would say I played solid.

Q. Is it a 5 or 8?

MARAT SAFIN: I hope I can play better than that.

Q. When was the last time you played that well?

MARAT SAFIN: Long time ago. I don't even remember. Long time ago.

Q. Novak said it was a case of him playing badly rather than you playing well. Would you agree with that?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, well, he's a nice guy, a great answerer and great for you guys. I think he scored some points over there by saying that, yeah, he played well and everything.

But he had small chances. He didn't take them. Whenever I had a chance I went for it, and I just played, like I said, solid, took my chances.

Q. When you walked off, the BBC man asked you about your next opponent. You implied you didn't expect to get past Djokovic, and you didn't know who you were going to play next. Is that right?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, true. But if you have a second round against Djokovic, the guy won the Australian Open, semifinals of French Open, winning the tournaments left and right. You play against him, and the last time I won two matches in a row was I don't remember when. So what do you expect? Of course that you are not really in a position to look anything after the second round.

Q. What do you remember of the things you've said about Wimbledon last year and in the recent past, and how do you feel about Wimbledon now?

MARAT SAFIN: What did I say? The strawberries are too expensive. It's true. They don't have enough for dessert. It's true. Only the coach is allowed to come in the locker room is also true. Because some physios, they cannot come inside the locker room. I'm not complaining about that.

I was right I think in what I said. I didn't make any lies, so I think I was right there.

Q. What do you like the most about Wimbledon, and what do you dislike the most about Wimbledon?

MARAT SAFIN: Thanks for the people to make the courts slower.

Q. Novak said when you played in Australia 2005...

MARAT SAFIN: He still remembers that?

Q. Yes. He said he had great respect for you because he practiced with you as a junior. He said today it might have been a factor in this match that he had too much respect for you.

MARAT SAFIN: That's good to know. Thank you.

Q. Do you think?

MARAT SAFIN: I hope so. I'm still older than him. I hope it will stay the same way and he'll have the same respect to me as he had three years ago. It works for me.

Q. You looked very fit today. Do you think was this the key to play at this level?

MARAT SAFIN: I'm fit since November last year, but it doesn't really help me to make any results earlier in this year. So just I came out actually in the middle of the year, which is surprisingly -- I'm surprisingly happy that finally I came, because I started to get a little bit desperate because I've been working really hard week after week, practicing and putting myself together.

The results are not coming, not coming. You need to be really strong mentally to continue to play this game.

Q. You expected to be back in Russia tonight?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. There is a flight at 8:30 leaving every evening, so I was almost there.

Q. Have you booked another flight, or not till a week on Monday?

MARAT SAFIN: There is a flight every day. 8:30, arrive at 4:00 in the morning in Moscow. Everything is under control.

Q. You had a ticket for this flight?

MARAT SAFIN: It's one phone call.

Q. We see Russia is doing well in the football at the moment at the European Championships. What does it say for Russia?

MARAT SAFIN: I try to keep up. The guys are surprising me in soccer. I never expect them to play such a great soccer, aggressive, playing unbelievable game. Now we're the favorites to win the European Championship. With the game they're playing right now, they should. They deserve to win.

Q. How have you managed to keep faith in yourself? You're working hard, going out, playing matches, wins aren't coming, month after month. You get on court today against arguably has been the best player of the year and showed some pretty good stuff.

MARAT SAFIN: Well, but just you need to have a little bit of commitment with yourself, you know, try to set some goals. You cannot just drop it in the middle of the year. After three months if the results are not coming, I think you should give yourself a chance, you know, and try more.

Because also it's a little bit sad to see other people winning and working only the half part of the time that I'm doing, that I've been spending on the court lately. I've been working unbelievably hard, unbelievable pre-season. Even though the results are not coming the beginning of the season, I was losing left and right.

Still I'm going to the gym and still doing my things. I think it's time for results to come. And I think just it's -- of course, it's tough. Of course it's tough to push yourself day after day when you are losing and you are losing and you are losing, get back on the court, get back in the gym and do your routine.

Q. I was expecting you to be at Roland Garros for your sister's final.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, she didn't send me the charter. That's why I didn't come.

Q. Is this the kind of result that would keep you on the tour? Is this the sort of victory you need?

MARAT SAFIN: Well, of course, these victories are always welcome because you've been working really hard for that. Results, especially when you are not really in the best shape and this result is coming to you, you need to take advantage of it, take the most of it, enjoy it, and use the advantage that other people, they saw the match and they started to respect you.

You are full of confidence by playing well. It's not like you played terrible tennis. You did your stuff, you're serving well, and you just look forward and just go for it as far as we can and take advantage of the confidence that you got from this match.

Q. If you play on the Centre Court like today, it's like the place you feel you belong to?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but you need to go through the stages. I played on Court 11, which is almost in another club. But still you need to go through these kind of matches to be able to play on the Centre Court. I think my ranking drop, so where you expect me to play? I'm 75 in the world and I'm playing against the Italian guy. Actually, not many people they care about this match. Actually, I was surprised it was a full stadium on Court 11.

So these matches you need to get through. Even though they're tough, everybody's nervous, the other guy is playing well. You don't have any challenges there, the Hawk-Eye. The chair umpire may be half sleeping, but you need to get through these matches to be able to perform well and have a chance on the Centre Court.

Q. Against Seppi, next match, you have to play on a small court. What do you think about your opponent?

MARAT SAFIN: Well, I don't mind to play the third round on a smaller court, you know. I don't think we're gonna be playing on Aorangi, I hope. This for me is not the worst case. I think I played all over the places. I played in really terrible places, so it doesn't really matter.

It's the third round. Still playing great tennis. I played really well, and I'm looking forward to get through the third round even though he's winning his matches also.

s.

czy on coś wspominał o emeryturze€?ZAPOMNIJ FACET.

Karolka

sport interia.pl

Djoković za burtą!

Rosjanin Marat Safin sprawił w środę niespodziankę eliminując 6:4, 7:6 (7-3), 6:2 trzeciego tenisistę w rankingu ATP "Entry System" - Serba Novaka Djokovicia w drugiej rundzie wielkoszlemowego turnieju na trawiastych kortach w Wimbledonie (z pulą nagród 11,812 mln funtów).

- Codziennie o 20.30 z Londynu odlatuje samolot do Monte Carlo, a ja prawie już w nim byłem. W końcu, gdy się trafia na Djokovicia, to raczej trudno myśleć o zwycięstwie. W dodatku ostatni raz wygrałem dwa mecze z rzędu... właściwie nie pamiętam kiedy. Od dawna nie gram zbyt dobrze, więc czego mogłem dziś oczekiwać? - podsumował swój występ 28-letni Safin, były lider rankingu tenisistów.

Mieszkający na stałe w księstwie Monako Rosjanin w ostatnich sezonach nie zachwycał zbyt wysoką formą, w dodatku często nękały go kontuzje nadgarstka, kolan, barku i pleców. To wszystko spowodowało, że obecnie jest sklasyfikowany na 75. miejscu na świecie.

Zwycięstwo Safina nad ubiegłorocznym półfinalistą londyńskiego turnieju jest o tyle niespodzianką, że w wielu wywiadach podkreślał, iż trawa jest najmniej lubianą przez niego nawierzchnią.

Djoković był uznawany za jednego z kandydatów do triumfu w Wimbledonie, choć we wszystkich przewidywaniach czy notowaniach bukmacherów największe szanse ma czołowa dwójka rankingu ATP: finalista dwóch ostatnich edycji Hiszpan Rafael Nadal oraz Szwajcar Roger Federer, który zmierza po szósty z rzędu tytuł w Wimbledonie.

- Cóż, jadę do domu... dom, miły dom. Najbliższe kilka dni spędzę bez rakiety w ręku. Pewnie zostawie je w domu i pojadę w jakieś ustronne miejsce, żeby dobrze odpocząć - stwierdził po meczu 21-letni Serb, który w styczniu odniósł pierwsze zwycięstwo w Wielkim Szlemie, wygrywając Australian Open.

Również w Melbourne triumfował Safin, ale w 2005 roku, natomiast pierwszy ze swoich dwóch tytułów w jednym z czterech najważniejszych turniejów w sezonie zdobył w 2000 roku w nowojorskim US Open.

Kati

The strawberries are too expensive. Very Happy

Oj Marat, Chłopie, ja cie kiedyś normalnie uduszę!
A co do ME w piłce, to trochę przesadził. Graja super, ale moim zdaniem nie są głównym faworytem do tytułu.