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Post by Damita on Jun 19, 2004 23:44:20 GMT 3
Teresa>> i love when you call Starace "Potatoe" ;D Nalbandian pulled out?  really? i didn't know that... but like you said, i won't complain about that And whoever calls Coria "king of grass" is a really funny person, good sense of humor, really  (if i'm not wrong, the matches he won this week were the first matches he won on grass in his career  ... only 3 or 4 matches and he's the king? they must be kidding) Vass>>the weather wasn't that bad during RG. And at least european tournaments are prepared to react really fast when it rains... unlike the US Open (remember last year... it was such a disaster, the press here said it was a shame for such a big tournament >> a grand Slam event not able to cope with the rain!!) But i agree that sometimes indoor would be better... it was raining in Rome, and it was very cold in Hamburg... maybe the ATP should change the schedule ... but to difficult  |
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Post by christina on Jun 19, 2004 23:52:27 GMT 3
the ATP should change the schedule ... but to difficult now where have i heard that before...  |
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Post by Damita on Jun 20, 2004 0:12:43 GMT 3
now where have i heard that before... dunno ... |
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Post by christina on Jun 20, 2004 0:20:03 GMT 3
dunno ... can't think huh? hehehehe the whole hamburg thing with the players freezin theirs balls off was a bit harsh tho....not that likely here...even if it rains the temps still like 15-20 at this time of year |
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Post by me on Jun 20, 2004 1:00:55 GMT 3
can't think huh? hehehehe the whole hamburg thing with the players freezin theirs balls off was a bit harsh tho....not that likely here...even if it rains the temps still like 15-20 at this time of year yeah but usually it's warmer in Hamburg around that time too, but the weather can be very unpredictable! Doesn't really matter if the temp is good if it rains, they won't play anyway, some raindelays are okay, it's just a part of wimby, but when they have to add a third monday cos everything's been delayed it's just too crazy. just a Q, any idea when the roof will be done? somewhere like 2007 or 2008 right? -xxx-jes me |
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Post by tall_one on Jun 20, 2004 15:35:04 GMT 3
Monday's Schedule ~Court 2 ~ noon start
1. Catalina Castano v Martina Navratilova
2. Julien Boutter v Juan Carlos Ferrero
3. Lindsay Davenport v Dally Randriantefy
4. Dmitry Tursunov v Marat Safin
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Post by Vassily on Jun 20, 2004 17:24:40 GMT 3
Court two... ok
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Post by poundcat on Jun 20, 2004 17:35:25 GMT 3
I found a better weather forecast for Monday! bbc.co.uk says sunny Monday, but lots of rain Tues & Wed, sunny Friday. They'll have to close the roof on centre court ROTFL
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Post by MariaV on Jun 20, 2004 17:38:02 GMT 3
Is court 2 good? Isn't it called the graveyard of champions? But Marat has never been a champ there so I hope he'll be OK and hopefully I can see the match on TV tomorrow (I mean if everything is OK with my TV, the NTV+ channel will broadcast the match for sure)!  |
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Post by christina on Jun 20, 2004 21:14:44 GMT 3
me>> the roof will be dun (planning permission permitting) in 2009
MariaV>>yeah court 2 is called graveyard of champions but federer won his 1st round match there last year cos i saw him ;D
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Post by christina on Jun 20, 2004 21:25:35 GMT 3
just found this article on the wimbledon website...and another one this mornin in the sunday telegraph but i hav 2 type that one up
Safin The Russian Enigma
Sunday, June 20, 2004
In a sport like tennis, where the tendency is to look after yourself and talk in similar fashion, there was until recently a rare degree of unanimity about one thing: that on his day Marat Safin was the world's best player.
The recent ascent of Roger Federer has qualified opinions about Safin being top dog, but the 24-year-old Russian remains one of the most attractive, volatile, unpredictable and entertaining figures in a profession where the work ethic tends to dominate waking - and sleeping - hours.
Having vaulted to fame by destroying Pete Sampras in the US Open final of 2000, Safin became world number one later that year. Last season, plagued by injury, he ended up 77th in the rankings, a dispiriting plunge, and this year is proving to be one of restoring ranking and reputation, in the company of another new coach, Peter Lundgren.
Lundgren and Federer parted company last December but the Swede was not unemployed for long. Safin took him on board and now the tall player and the tubby coach are embarked, like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, on a crusade to get Marat back to where he, and most of tennis, think he belongs.
The Moscow-born Safin owes his name of Marat to his grandmother, who thought that having someone in the family named after the 18th century French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat was preferable to having another Sergei or Andrei around.
Safin, too, has proved something of a revolutionary. He took up the game at six because his father, Misha, was director of a small tennis club in Moscow and his mother Rausa, a former Russian junior prospect, became his coach. His younger sister, Dinara, is also doing well on the WTA circuit.
The parents managed to procure sponsorship which enabled Marat, at 14, to base himself in Valencia, learning Spanish and the arts of clay court tennis. Though Safin still spends time in Valencia, he is based nowadays in Monte Carlo, a sure indication that his bank balance has prospered.
From the moment he made his Grand Slam debut as a qualifier at the 1998 French Open, defeating Andre Agassi and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten and reaching the fourth round, Safin has been talking as hard as he plays. And, since he thinks tennis should be enjoyed, most of the talk has been lively, entertaining stuff.
From his early days he gained a reputation as a destroyer of tennis rackets which were not able to do what he expected of them. One year he smashed 48.
And as Safin's ranking soared, so did his tendency to speak out against an over-demanding playing schedule and authoritanism.But the fans loved him, never more so than in New York in September of Millennium Year when he crushed Sampras, a four-time champion, in the final of the US Open, conceding just 10 games to the great man.
That was the biggest of the seven titles Safin won in 2000 and remains to date his only Grand Slam success. He has twice been runner-up at the Australian Open, in 2002 and again in January this year when he was defeated by Federer, and has got as far as semi-finals at Roland Garros and the French Open.
Wimbledon remains the one tournament in the Big Four where he feels he has not yet shown his best form. In the four times he has competed, his best achievement was a quarter-final in 2001. Last year, because of a wrist injury which effectively ended his season from April onwards, he missed three of the four Grand Slams, Wimbledon included.
Now, he feels, there is an inviting new page on which to inscribe a fresh deed or two. For instance, it is surely time that he ended a title drought stretching back to the Masters Series indoor tournament in Paris in November 2002.
Until blistered hands ended his hopes in the fourth round of the French Open last month, Safin was on the road to rediscovering his best form. And, of course, having fun along the way, as he showed by dropping his shorts after one spectacular rally. So he remains very much Marat the Revolutionary.
Written by Ron Atkin
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Post by christina on Jun 20, 2004 21:35:17 GMT 3
anotha snippet from the wimbledon site...
...Martina is in good company on Court Two. Following her match come three contests all featuring Grand Slam champions. First there is Juan Carlo Ferrero (French Open 2003), then comes Lindsay Davenport (US Open 1998, Wimbledon 1999, Australian 2000) and finally we shall see Marat Safin (US Open 2000). All should progress.
once again by ron atkin
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Post by Vassily on Jun 21, 2004 13:01:50 GMT 3
Since when do people write "Roland Garros and the French Open"? |
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Post by Magda on Jun 21, 2004 13:55:16 GMT 3
The Moscow-born Safin owes his name of Marat to his grandmother, who thought that having someone in the family named after the 18th century French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat was preferable to having another Sergei or Andrei around. What?? He said that he wasn't named after Jean-Paul Marat |
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Post by MariaV on Jun 21, 2004 14:04:45 GMT 3
What?? He said that he wasn't named after Jean-Paul Marat Dear Magda, of course he wasn't named after Jean-Paul Marat, it's the journos!!! ;D Marat is a common Tartar first name. But they'll never get it. "Roland Garros and the French Open" Do they read their articles before uploading them to the website? |
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really? i didn't know that... but like you said, i won't complain about that
(if i'm not wrong, the matches he won this week were the first matches he won on grass in his career 
... only 3 or 4 matches and he's the king? they must be kidding)
