Wimbledon

[Dee]

Ok...well it's time to look forward and positively towards Wimbledon. I know Marat hates grass, but I think Marat could do really well there (barring blisters/ 24 hour flu/injury etc) What does everyone else think?

take care all
love Dee

[Anik]

marat dont plays next week in Gerry Weber Open Halle??

[Dee]

i think he is playing in Halle, but it's just that Marat has said he feels uncomfortable playing at Wimbledon. I'm interested to see how he approaches it,

[Annie]

He's supposed to be going to Halle, but I don't know if he's confirmed in full yet, and with these nasty blisters, he may not go at all. We'll have to wait and see how quickly he heals and what he decides to do.

[Dee]

Do you know how many tournies there are on grass, between now and Wimbledon Ruth? I hope he manages to get some competition on grass.
Poor marat, if it's not one injury, it's another.

[Annie]

As far as I know, between now and Wimbledon, there's Halle, Ordina Open, Nottingham, Queens (Stella Artois), Liverpool and qualifying for Wimby at Roehampton which some players use for extra practice. I've no idea what Marat's planning to do now, though. Originally, I think he was supposed to play Halle then Ordina and then Wimbledon, but anything could happen now.

Re: his chances at Wimbledon > with his defeat at RG, his serve and volleying improving and the way everyone says 'oh Safin can't play on grass' ( : I think Marat may try and surprise us this year (at least I'd like to think so ;D)
BTW, just a little thing - I don't think Marat hates the UK or Wimbledon per se. I think he doesn't like the stuffy traditions of Wimbledon because he's a rebel at heart (and that's why we love him!). I think in a perverse way, he probably likes it because he has something to rebel against and he can surprise people by doing well there. It's also the Grand Slam where he has the least media attention - he was barely even mentioned last year by the BBC. So there isn't the constant scramble for interviews or pressure from journalists. He really enjoyed his time in Liverpool in 2002, and he got on really well with everyone up there - all the tournament staff spoke really highly and fondly of him. So I think it's really unfair to say 'Marat hates Wimbledon' or 'Marat hates the UK' because it's not totally true. It's just not his favourite place, unlike Paris & Moscow ;D There are one or two countries I've been told Marat dreads playing for different reasons (eg Australia is not a favourite because of the heat) but UK wasn't mentioned.

Ok, now I've said that, Marat will say in his next interview 'Oh man, I really hate the UK and I can't stand Wimbledon.....I wish it was Australian season soon!!' ;D

[MariaV]

Well, to be honest as he showed in 2002 he can do really well on grass i.e. in Wimbledon and I personally have never thought that he can't play on grass! And now with Peter they have time to work after the blisters have healed! So DAVAI MARAT!!!!!!!

[Damita]

hehe, Dee, you waste no time, do you? ;D
Marat can do well in Wimbledon, i'm sure of that... plus, Henman and Escudé did well in RG so why not Marat on grass? ;D

[christina]

well the es commentators 2day were saying that he mite surprise us @ wimbledon this year cos his volleying was gettin better

[Dee]

[quote author=Damita

Dee, you waste no time, do you? ;D
Marat can do well in Wimbledon, i'm sure of that.

lol Yeah well, I actually felt quite depressed about Marat going out of RG, so I thought I'd cheer myself up a bit by thinking forward to Wimbldedon. i always enjoy watching it on TV as we have such full coverage on the BBC.

In a way, it's nice this time of year because if you have a dissappointment at one grand slam, another opportunity to win one is only a few weeks away.

As to Wimbledon Ruth, I probably came over wrong in my post, I did mean the stuffed shirts of Wimbledon etc not the people!...i'm a Londoner anyway lol. I liked your idea that Marat might enjoy ruffling a few feathers on the hallowed grass courts. ;D

And I personally have always thought Marat could do well there. I'm secretly hoping he'll do Queens or Liverpool tourny.

[Jen]

christina said:

well the es commentators 2day were saying that he mite surprise us @ wimbledon this year cos his volleying was gettin better

Yeah, I think Marat proved at RG that he can do well at Wimbledon, because he went to the net really often in his matches and had successful percentages in net approaches.

[Dee]

Eurosport were talking about the Willaims sisters and how well they do in major tournies. They were talking to Matina Hingis. She felt that they did so well because of their rare appearences, that opponants had no chance to get used to their style. i was wondering if maybe Marat should perhaps do less tournies for a while, (much as I would hate not seeing him)concentrate on the majors. Marat has said during RG during a match, that he was burnt out.

[christina]

dee>> interesting take on it by hingis, mite b tru, look wast happened in aus wen marat hadn't played 4 ages!

im all excited cos i was just on the fone 2 my dad n he sed 4 me 2 look @ hotels 2 stay at 4 wen we go 2 wimbledon...yay, can't wait! ;D ;D ;D

[Magda]

I agree with you guys that his volley has definitely improved and there is a chance he can make a surprise at Wimbledon. Though I think he still needs to work on his serve... it's not bad but where are those days when you were hitting dozens of aces Marat??

And it would be cool if he played Queens coz ES usualy broadcast this tournament so that would be another chance for me to see him ;D

[Steph]

Well I can't wait for Wimbledon cos my exams will be over! But now I'm really excited cos of how well I thought Marat served and volleyed during the 4th set today, if he did this at Wimbledon who knows what could happen!