Roland Garros 2008

[jenhatter06]

Misha & Dima move through as the sprinkles start, although there is still play at the moment ... surprised by how much play we've gotten in today ... kinda a hold-your-breath / pins-and-needles waiting for the rain that you know it coming ... glad there's been some completions though

[jenhatter06]

... and the rain delay begins ...

[arvind13]

yeah, but on Court 2, the match is still going on while all other courts its rain delay ?

[maryb]

Hate to make the Big Yin envious, but it's a gloriously sunny afternoon here in Scotland ...

€311 lighter. I shouldn't be allowed near a DIY store.

Might as well do some gardening while I wait for the tennis to start again.

[arvind13]

hey I hope they don't play today and play tommorow instead. there's no rain. and Marat performs better in good weather. What do you guys think?

[sabz]

May 29, 2008 17:12:14 GMT 3 maryb said:

Hate to make the Big Yin envious, but it's a gloriously sunny afternoon here in Scotland ...

€311 lighter. I shouldn't be allowed near a DIY store.

Might as well do some gardening while I wait for the tennis to start again.

well i guess scotland is the only place where the sun decided to show up. Here in london it is just as miserable as it is in paris!

happy gardening!

[Anne]

One-on-one with Marat Safin
Thursday, May 29, 2008
By Eric Frosio

The sublimely talented Marat Safin is primed to regain his place among the world’s elite if new coach Hernan Gumy is to be believed. At 28, the Russian former world No1 has not won a tournament since he triumphed in the 2005 Aussie Open…

Fighting his way back to the summit of world tennis is no doubt proving a similar task to the one he faced in December 2007 when he attempted – unsuccessfully – to scale a Himalayan peak.

The tennis landscape has changed considerably since January 2005 when Marat famously outlasted Roger Federer (9-7 in the fifth set) in the semi-final at Melbourne and then thumped Lleyton Hewitt in the final.

Broken rackets and spirit

Injuries and a certain lack of motivation have plagued the big man for the past three years. His comeback following a knee operation – which kept him sidelined between August 2005 and February 2006 – was a period of self doubt when Marat earned a reputation for smashing rackets as one winless week ran into the next.

“I hit rock bottom,” he admits. Dumped out of tournament after tournament Marat was producing little to remind tennis fans of better days. He needed help to get his game back on track, and it came in the form of Hernan Gumy, ranked No39 in the world in 1996 and former coach of Guillermo Coria and Gustavo Kuerten. Gumy teamed up with Marat in August 2007.

Gumy to the rescue

“His manager spoke to me about teaming up during Wimbledon” Gumy explains. “Then we started working together in LA in the run up to the US Open. And because things are going well we’re still together. To start with I found Marat in bad mental shape. He wasn’t playing well and he was overweight. Everybody was telling him it was a confidence problem but I looked beyond that. I studied videos and compared matches he played in 2000 with matches he played in 2007. I noticed that he was positioning himself differently when he hit the ball. He’d started putting his left leg more forward to protect his injured knee (he mimes a backhand). I noticed that he was doing the same for the forehand.”


“These are the small details that ended up ruining his game,” Gumy continues. “When I showed him the montage that I’d compiled, he was like ‘Wow! That’s incredible!’ In fact, I took a different approach, based more on technique than psychology.”

Still there!

But to develop this approach, Safin needed to improve his physical condition. He had to start again for the beginning, working out three times a day to get himself back into shape.

“It was difficult but he was ready to put in the work, to take up the challenge. Contrary to what people say, Marat isn’t lazy,” declares Gumy. “He’s very motivated. We’ve worked hard and he’s in good condition again. It wasn’t always easy and he exploded lots of times, threw his racquet and shouted at everyone. When that happened, I just left him alone to get it out of his system and afterwards we got back to work. Marat’s like that. He’ll never change. That’s just who he is.”

More independent than before and with a new technique, Safin is back to his old self. A few good wins over Berdych in the Davis Cup and Ferrero in Valencia and have chased all thoughts of retirement from his mind. “I still enjoy playing. My tennis is getting better now. Why would I stop when everything is starting to come together again? I’m not going to retire anytime soon. I’m still here!” he declared after his rain-delayed victory over Jean-René Lisnard.

Thanks Gumy



Whatever the result of his second round match against Nikolay Davydenko, which Safin expects to be “an exciting Russian derby", Safin is grateful and recently thanked his coach publicly for his perseverance.

“The hardest part is over,” affirms Gumy.“He’s back in shape, he’s found his tennis again and when he gets his confidence back, he’ll be able to do some damage. For a while he thought that his time had gone, that he was finished. I can tell you that he no longer thinks like that. He has big ambitions!”

Safin is at the foot of the mountain. The climb is just beginning…

[sabz]

Well Marat lost 7-6 6-2 6-2
he squandered 3 set points in the 1st set before it went to a TB
a bit of racket smashing, a lot of shouting and kolya won
there were a few flashes of his old self, but his 1st serve percentage was just bad! and too many silly mistakes. The commentator said "he either hits brilliant shots, or misses by miles"
but overall, not good enough! and credit to kolya he played well too!

but thanks for the article anne - have to say, that has given me hope!

now to pastures new...we leave the red dirt and go to the fresh cut grassy courts. I know its for cows, but it can be for you too
DAVAI MARAT!!!

[arvind13]

it wasn't just flashes. the first set he was playing better than Kolya, until he squandered the three set lead. he's getting there. he showed that he can play at his old form, he hasn't lost his ability to play that great tennis.

[Dina]

I was going to say smthg different from what I'm gonna say now until I read this article that made things crystal clear!!!!
Marat played like crap and it started right after the first set! losing it was I think the key of this match!
too much UE.....
FRUSTRATION Marat only becoz u still have no confidence in urself! as I believe this might be just a matter of time!!!!!!!
u lost but I'm still happy, becoz I know you got back one little smthg missing to ur game, just trust it and trust urself!!!!
lighten up people,he lost but he's on the way back........
ps: really never truly liked kolya(with all credit and respect to his tennis), but the guy really doesn't fix his stuff with me;as some declarations he made last year during the DC semifinal when Marat was climbing, more things he's done...
today at that match point I'd almost wanted to squeeze his neck! what's that? where did respect gone?

[katrin]

I'll be quoting Bia, but still...
One day I'll ask to write on my tombstone: "Safin finaly did me in!" Until that day I'll be positive... Even if I'm swearing under my breath and have my nerves torn in shreds. Bloody optimist I am. Hope MArat is kinda also

[katrin]

Dina *handshake* Agree withevery word

[justsafin]

Thanks so much, Anne! It's a good read. ;D ;D ;D

Actually, I have watched 2005 AO semis and final thousands of times. Somehow, I noticed Marat's game in last two years was different. His forehand had more spins which was less destructive. And if he tried to hit flat and hard, it'd fly way all over the places except in the court...Footwork was not the same, with much lower rhythm. It's quite obvious if you compare 2005 AO with 2007/2008 AO. Since so many people accused Marat of venting too many excuses about injuries, I kinda doubted what I had found (maybe I was just in denial or whatever...). I didn't know how different his game became. (It truly looked different to me.) Sometimes, I really thought confidence might be the consequence instead of the key reason of his depressing losses.

Glad to know that Gumy studied hard on Marat's game and analyzed it thoroughly. And Marat listened and agreed with Gumy. If Marat could just play the way he used to, I do believe he is still pretty competitive. It's quite a long process since he has been playing weirdly for more than two years. But, hey, Marat is motivated and I believe he finally realize he really loves playing tennis not just becuz mama forced him to.

DAVAI MARAT !! Look ahead. You have points to defend in Wimby. I will support you as always. Fly high!

[arvind13]

Right now I think he's playing much better than the last two years, I think its only a matter of time before he starts playing at his old form and winning majors.

[maryb]

From the glimpses I got to see of the first set from 5-4, he played very well. Pity that the momentum went after it - but again, a few brief glimpses of second and third set (my SKY planner packed in, on cue, at 3-0 40-15 in the third) he wasn't playing badly, was unlucky on a few shots that missed by inches. Davy boy just played better.

Don't mention the 'c' word - he's got it back. He just needs to play more matches - and get some lucky breaks.

Get to Liverpool for some pre-Wimbles training Big Yin. Grass is your surface. Honest. Just start 'mooing' in preparation.

Chin up. The game's coming back.Nice to see it.