Post by Annie on Jun 13, 2005 19:57:49 GMT 3
Dutch Interview with Marat
2003
Nobody disputes that Marat Safin is one of the biggest talents in the circuit. At the age of 23 he has already won the US Open and he has been number 1 in the rankings. Still there remain doubts. Does the Russian make the most of his career? “People who say I should possess more Grand Slam titles, have no idea what they are talking about.”
Q: It must have been a big disappointment for you, that you got injured during the Australian Open.
MS: Definitely, because I wasn’t playing too bad at that moment and I had a lot of confidence. I felt I was doing better and better. I got injured in the first round match against Reamon Sluiter. Pure bad luck. Hopefully I can regain these lost months in the rest of the year and have some good results.
Q: What exactly happened in that match?
MS: I fell and hurt my wrist. Later, when I hit a backhand, I felt a big stitch. The doctors gave me injections for the pain. That helped me to get through the second round, but after that it was over for me. After the effect of the anaesthetic had worn off, the joint got thick and I couldn’t move it anymore. That’s why I decided to withdraw from the tournament. I wanted to prevent it from getting worse.
Q: In the meantime the first quarter of the season is lost for you.
MS: Yes, that’s disappointing. Frustrating, even. Besides, is not easy to get back to the old level. Not even when you have only been sidelined for 4 weeks, like myself. It is like the balls come flying at you a lot faster. I will get used to that again, but it will take time. The pain is gone for a long time now, and that’s a good sign.
Q: Almost everyone has an opinion on you. The most frequent heard, is that you don’t use the talent you have. You should win more Grand Slams and be the number one in the world. What do you think about this yourself?
MS: I want to make clear that I have the ambition. Like every other player I would like to win more Grand Slam titles, it just is far from easy to do that. To achieve that you need more than just a good game. You really have to be prepared and have some luck now and then. In a big tournament there always is a very though match in which you need that. But sometimes you don’t even get there. Last year during the US Open, for example, I was completely out of shape and had no confidence whatsoever. That’s why I didn’t do well, but at that moment I couldn’t do any better. It’s too bad. Maybe this year will be better. I try and I really do want to be number one.
Q: Is that your heart’s desire?
MS: Yes, I really want it. That’s why I train really hard and try to live as disciplined as I can. It works. But unfortunately I got injured. Tennis is getting too physical. There is not one player who doesn’t get hurt during a season. Therefore I think it is a good thing to have an annual restingperiod of two months. The level over the entire field has gotten better. Faster. You have to be very fit. But because everyone is, you have to put yourself to the limit every time, which makes you tired after two tournaments. If you play many matches, your muscles get overburdened. It’s a though job. In the old days you could warm up easily in the first round and win that match 6-1, 6-2. Now, everyone knows how to play tennis and can get you into trouble. You have to take that into account. Even players from the qualifying tournament can make things difficult for you to win. There really isn’t such a big difference between the top 70 and the top 10.
Q: Almost every match is an intense fight.
MS: Exactly. A lower ranked player has nothing to lose and is extremely motivated to beat a high ranked player. He takes all the risks and if he has a good day, he will make shots like he has never done before. Sometimes there is nothing you can do about that.
Q: When people say you should have more Grand Slam titles by now, do they underestimate the weigth of the tennis circuit?
MS: People who say that, have no idea what they are talking about. They don’t know how difficult it is. Ofcourse, it’s easy to talk standing at the sidelines. I can think everyone should be like Bill Gates. It’s the same. Well, it ain’t that easy. If it were, I would have won five Grand Slams by now and some twenty other titles. It takes a lot of time and hard work to get there.
Q: Is it difficult for you to be consistent?
MS: That is my biggest problem. Every tennis player has a problem and mine is inconsistency. When I lose my game, I lose it completely. It is impossible for me to be mediocre. Either I play very good, or, when I’m out of shape, I play very bad. Sometimes I go for it and take risks, but when I don’t have any confidence, I miss those shots and hit them a couple of centimeters out and I lose the match. The only way to reach consistency is to work hard and be patient. But that sometimes takes too long.
Q: It looks like you get annoyed pretty easily when things don’t go the right way. Is that because you’re a perfectionist?
MS: Yes, you could say that. I like to perform really well. When I have been practising on my forehand for hours and it goes wrong during the match, I get frustrated. How is this possible? Hours, days I have been practising and when it comes down to it, it fails. That is something I have to work on, because everyone can have a bad day. But so far it really annoys me.
Q: Are you working on it?
MS: Yes, I have to learn that I can not hit every ball the right way. Besides, you can not play a point over again. It’s in the past and you have to get over it. Just think about the next point, that’s it. But for me it’s difficult to forget my faults. I rather forget my victories.
Q: There seem to be two personalities inside you. A lazy one and an ambitious one.
MS: That’s right, but those two can easily go together. They have to. Otherwise I would go crazy. Tennis is a great sport you just need to have fun ones in a while. It’s the same as in journalism. You can’t sit staring at your computer and write stories for days. You can? Well, than those stories won’t be very good in the end. A person needs to relax, needs to drink a beer and have some fun with his friends.
Q: Don’t you need to make sacrifices to be a great champion?
MS: Yes, but not at all costs. I’m sure that even the biggest players, like Sampras and Agassi, have a life outside the court.
Q: When Sampras was number one in the rankings, he said that that was exactly what he didn’t have.
MS: I couldn’t possibly be like that and I don’t want to be. I only live ones and I am only 23 ones. This is the best time of my life. Ofcourse a person can eat and drink tennis, but I can’t. I think there should be a balance between exertion and relaxation. When I don’t play a tournament I can be with my friends for a while. I don’t need much.
Q: So you’re not a partygoer?
MS: No, I’m not, but a lot of people think I am.
Q: Yes, how come?
MS: I don’t know. I just have a wrong reputation.
Q: Maybe because you’re always surrounded by beautiful women.
MS: Still, it’s unjust, because you can’t always go out at night and play great tennis at the same time.
Q: Won’t you get mad for being characterized like that?
MS: I don’t care. I have gotten used to it.
Q: In the past many Russian topathletes have lost the road because of all the temptations wealth offered them. Do you recognize that?
MS: Maybe something like that can happen in hockey, football or basketball, but with tennis it’s impossible. With these sports you’re on a contract and you receive a fixed salary, in tennis you don’t. If you lose, you don’t have any money and if your injured for a long period of time, you have to start from scratch. If you fall out of the top ten or twenty, you have to give in a lot. You simply can not allow yourself to have a frivolous lifestyle.
Q: But isn’t it hard to focus when there are so many temptations on the way? Take Andrei Medvedev, for example. He wanted the pleasures, but not the problems. Does that sound familiar?
MS: In a way it does. But don’t forget that he was only eightteen when he already had a lot of money. Besides he earnt it all himself. It wasn’t handed to him on a plate. You don’t receive any gifts in life. He had the money, so why shouldn’t he buy some nice things? Sure, the danger is that you spent your entire fortune and don’t have anything left when your tenniscarreer is over. Than you have to start all over again.
Q: Maybe it’s a process that goes naturally. How did you experience this? You were a millionair at a young age too.
MS: You have brains or you don’t have them. Ofcourse you can spent some money, but you also have to think about the future. When you will have a family and children. You don’t play tennis your entire life. For that you have to prepare also. I will play untill my 30th, at most. That’s the maximum. Many players don’t even reach that. After that you’re going to have to do something to make a living. Maybe I will go into bussiness. Because of the capital I have gathered now, I won’t be under a lot of pressure in the future.
Q: How do you handle wealth?
MS: A man doesn’t need much. What’s all this anyway?
Q: You tell me.
MS: A bed to sleep in, a t.v. and a bathroom. That’s about it. It ain’t much. And some money to eat, of course. Also, a car would come in handy.
Q: And a wife maybe?
MS: That’s the next step. But you know what? When you have more money, you take a bigger appartement or a bigger car. But it all comes down to the same thing.
Q: You never wanted to buy an expensive BMW or a private jet when you started making a lot of money?
MS: A private jet is a waste of money. Cars too, actually, but I just love them. I know, I’m sick. I can’t help it. A car is my dream. When I was little I knew all models. All of them. I read books about cars and I found it exciting to recognize them all. From my first prizemoney I bought an eight-year-old Volkswagen. Without airconditioning and good shock absorbers. It was liking driving in Spain. When I was making more money, I wanted something better. But you have to be careful. Money flies.
Dutch text by: Coen Vemer
Translated by Pascal.
2003
Nobody disputes that Marat Safin is one of the biggest talents in the circuit. At the age of 23 he has already won the US Open and he has been number 1 in the rankings. Still there remain doubts. Does the Russian make the most of his career? “People who say I should possess more Grand Slam titles, have no idea what they are talking about.”
Q: It must have been a big disappointment for you, that you got injured during the Australian Open.
MS: Definitely, because I wasn’t playing too bad at that moment and I had a lot of confidence. I felt I was doing better and better. I got injured in the first round match against Reamon Sluiter. Pure bad luck. Hopefully I can regain these lost months in the rest of the year and have some good results.
Q: What exactly happened in that match?
MS: I fell and hurt my wrist. Later, when I hit a backhand, I felt a big stitch. The doctors gave me injections for the pain. That helped me to get through the second round, but after that it was over for me. After the effect of the anaesthetic had worn off, the joint got thick and I couldn’t move it anymore. That’s why I decided to withdraw from the tournament. I wanted to prevent it from getting worse.
Q: In the meantime the first quarter of the season is lost for you.
MS: Yes, that’s disappointing. Frustrating, even. Besides, is not easy to get back to the old level. Not even when you have only been sidelined for 4 weeks, like myself. It is like the balls come flying at you a lot faster. I will get used to that again, but it will take time. The pain is gone for a long time now, and that’s a good sign.
Q: Almost everyone has an opinion on you. The most frequent heard, is that you don’t use the talent you have. You should win more Grand Slams and be the number one in the world. What do you think about this yourself?
MS: I want to make clear that I have the ambition. Like every other player I would like to win more Grand Slam titles, it just is far from easy to do that. To achieve that you need more than just a good game. You really have to be prepared and have some luck now and then. In a big tournament there always is a very though match in which you need that. But sometimes you don’t even get there. Last year during the US Open, for example, I was completely out of shape and had no confidence whatsoever. That’s why I didn’t do well, but at that moment I couldn’t do any better. It’s too bad. Maybe this year will be better. I try and I really do want to be number one.
Q: Is that your heart’s desire?
MS: Yes, I really want it. That’s why I train really hard and try to live as disciplined as I can. It works. But unfortunately I got injured. Tennis is getting too physical. There is not one player who doesn’t get hurt during a season. Therefore I think it is a good thing to have an annual restingperiod of two months. The level over the entire field has gotten better. Faster. You have to be very fit. But because everyone is, you have to put yourself to the limit every time, which makes you tired after two tournaments. If you play many matches, your muscles get overburdened. It’s a though job. In the old days you could warm up easily in the first round and win that match 6-1, 6-2. Now, everyone knows how to play tennis and can get you into trouble. You have to take that into account. Even players from the qualifying tournament can make things difficult for you to win. There really isn’t such a big difference between the top 70 and the top 10.
Q: Almost every match is an intense fight.
MS: Exactly. A lower ranked player has nothing to lose and is extremely motivated to beat a high ranked player. He takes all the risks and if he has a good day, he will make shots like he has never done before. Sometimes there is nothing you can do about that.
Q: When people say you should have more Grand Slam titles by now, do they underestimate the weigth of the tennis circuit?
MS: People who say that, have no idea what they are talking about. They don’t know how difficult it is. Ofcourse, it’s easy to talk standing at the sidelines. I can think everyone should be like Bill Gates. It’s the same. Well, it ain’t that easy. If it were, I would have won five Grand Slams by now and some twenty other titles. It takes a lot of time and hard work to get there.
Q: Is it difficult for you to be consistent?
MS: That is my biggest problem. Every tennis player has a problem and mine is inconsistency. When I lose my game, I lose it completely. It is impossible for me to be mediocre. Either I play very good, or, when I’m out of shape, I play very bad. Sometimes I go for it and take risks, but when I don’t have any confidence, I miss those shots and hit them a couple of centimeters out and I lose the match. The only way to reach consistency is to work hard and be patient. But that sometimes takes too long.
Q: It looks like you get annoyed pretty easily when things don’t go the right way. Is that because you’re a perfectionist?
MS: Yes, you could say that. I like to perform really well. When I have been practising on my forehand for hours and it goes wrong during the match, I get frustrated. How is this possible? Hours, days I have been practising and when it comes down to it, it fails. That is something I have to work on, because everyone can have a bad day. But so far it really annoys me.
Q: Are you working on it?
MS: Yes, I have to learn that I can not hit every ball the right way. Besides, you can not play a point over again. It’s in the past and you have to get over it. Just think about the next point, that’s it. But for me it’s difficult to forget my faults. I rather forget my victories.
Q: There seem to be two personalities inside you. A lazy one and an ambitious one.
MS: That’s right, but those two can easily go together. They have to. Otherwise I would go crazy. Tennis is a great sport you just need to have fun ones in a while. It’s the same as in journalism. You can’t sit staring at your computer and write stories for days. You can? Well, than those stories won’t be very good in the end. A person needs to relax, needs to drink a beer and have some fun with his friends.
Q: Don’t you need to make sacrifices to be a great champion?
MS: Yes, but not at all costs. I’m sure that even the biggest players, like Sampras and Agassi, have a life outside the court.
Q: When Sampras was number one in the rankings, he said that that was exactly what he didn’t have.
MS: I couldn’t possibly be like that and I don’t want to be. I only live ones and I am only 23 ones. This is the best time of my life. Ofcourse a person can eat and drink tennis, but I can’t. I think there should be a balance between exertion and relaxation. When I don’t play a tournament I can be with my friends for a while. I don’t need much.
Q: So you’re not a partygoer?
MS: No, I’m not, but a lot of people think I am.
Q: Yes, how come?
MS: I don’t know. I just have a wrong reputation.
Q: Maybe because you’re always surrounded by beautiful women.
MS: Still, it’s unjust, because you can’t always go out at night and play great tennis at the same time.
Q: Won’t you get mad for being characterized like that?
MS: I don’t care. I have gotten used to it.
Q: In the past many Russian topathletes have lost the road because of all the temptations wealth offered them. Do you recognize that?
MS: Maybe something like that can happen in hockey, football or basketball, but with tennis it’s impossible. With these sports you’re on a contract and you receive a fixed salary, in tennis you don’t. If you lose, you don’t have any money and if your injured for a long period of time, you have to start from scratch. If you fall out of the top ten or twenty, you have to give in a lot. You simply can not allow yourself to have a frivolous lifestyle.
Q: But isn’t it hard to focus when there are so many temptations on the way? Take Andrei Medvedev, for example. He wanted the pleasures, but not the problems. Does that sound familiar?
MS: In a way it does. But don’t forget that he was only eightteen when he already had a lot of money. Besides he earnt it all himself. It wasn’t handed to him on a plate. You don’t receive any gifts in life. He had the money, so why shouldn’t he buy some nice things? Sure, the danger is that you spent your entire fortune and don’t have anything left when your tenniscarreer is over. Than you have to start all over again.
Q: Maybe it’s a process that goes naturally. How did you experience this? You were a millionair at a young age too.
MS: You have brains or you don’t have them. Ofcourse you can spent some money, but you also have to think about the future. When you will have a family and children. You don’t play tennis your entire life. For that you have to prepare also. I will play untill my 30th, at most. That’s the maximum. Many players don’t even reach that. After that you’re going to have to do something to make a living. Maybe I will go into bussiness. Because of the capital I have gathered now, I won’t be under a lot of pressure in the future.
Q: How do you handle wealth?
MS: A man doesn’t need much. What’s all this anyway?
Q: You tell me.
MS: A bed to sleep in, a t.v. and a bathroom. That’s about it. It ain’t much. And some money to eat, of course. Also, a car would come in handy.
Q: And a wife maybe?
MS: That’s the next step. But you know what? When you have more money, you take a bigger appartement or a bigger car. But it all comes down to the same thing.
Q: You never wanted to buy an expensive BMW or a private jet when you started making a lot of money?
MS: A private jet is a waste of money. Cars too, actually, but I just love them. I know, I’m sick. I can’t help it. A car is my dream. When I was little I knew all models. All of them. I read books about cars and I found it exciting to recognize them all. From my first prizemoney I bought an eight-year-old Volkswagen. Without airconditioning and good shock absorbers. It was liking driving in Spain. When I was making more money, I wanted something better. But you have to be careful. Money flies.
Dutch text by: Coen Vemer
Translated by Pascal.
