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Post by Jasmine on Mar 28, 2005 12:19:17 GMT 3
This was the first news I heard this morning. Quite a sad start for me.  Good things, he went further than the Pacific. So keep going my dear. I still hope to see more rounds in Monte Carlo.  |
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Post by annie on Mar 28, 2005 12:30:32 GMT 3
Top Eight Women's Seeds in Action Monday; Safin Exits
by Craig Gabriel
Marat Safin
Third-seeded Marat Safin, the reigning Australian Open champion, followed Andy Roddick out of the tournament, losing to Dominik Hrbaty, 7-6, 6-1 on Sunday.
"Personally, I don't have any pressure but just, you know, I am not playing well which is okay, but it's little bit disappointing of course not doing well in the big tournaments," said Safin. "But the people are talking, so I guess everybody gives own opinion about how I'm playing and how well should I do and maybe I have a little pressure … maybe he is not focused enough because he won Australian Open'. I don't really care about this, but I am trying my best."
Safin tried to keep his frustrations in check, an aspect of his game which has run away from him in the past. He isn't Mr. Innocent and no one wants him to be because he is a great character but he was upset at playing poorly and that's what upset him. He suggested anyone "would go crazy" faced with the same situation
Safin said it is very difficult to keep focused when you let chances go out the window. He should have won the first set but the steady Slovak who has troubled the Russian time and again just maintained a constant level. After losing the first set Safin could not find his game.
"I couldn't really make the shots to bring him in and make him slice, a little bit spin, change the rhythm, come to the net a couple of times," said Safin. "Just I couldn't find my game from the baseline. That's where the trouble came. When I'm not feeling comfortable, he is feeling that, and he feels more confident, he's secure, and he's going for the shots. That's why the second set he played much better; he felt it.
"It's frustrating when you have, you know, like when it's 6-all in the tiebreak and you have this kind of just lucky shot, you know. Gives you set point and serving. Can't get more disappointing than that."
It really didn't look like the Marat Safin who won his second major title at the Australian Open just about two months ago.
Ivan Ljubicic continued his hot streak against anyone not named Roger Federer with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 win over Vincent Spadea. Ljubicic next takes on the young Spaniard Rafael Nadal, a straight set winner over Fernando Verdasco.
Justine Henin-Hardenne and Alicia Molik have advanced to a fourth round showdown. Henin-Hardenne in her first tournament since last year's US Open, defeated Nuia Llagostera Vives 6-3, 6-2 while Molik came back from a set down to beat Argentine Gisela Dulko.
Henin-Hardenne said she played much better compared to her first round. She was much more aggressive in the way she struck her returns and there was more determination as well. With that her confidence lifted and she feels good going in that match with Molik.
"For sure it will be a good test, every match is important and I take every match seriously," said Henin-Hardenne. "It will be a great test for me to play a top ten and I look forward to my next round."
Molik meanwhile broke Dulko's serve at the start of the first set but then didn't consolidate as the Argentine swept through five consecutive games from 1-3. Molik didn't feel any alarm bells ringing. She referred to the match as a "scratchy match" but did what she had to to get through to play Henin-Hardenne.
"It's been a while since I have played Justine or seen Justine play and I think it's going to be a good match," said Molik, who won the Olympic bronze medal to Henin-Hardenne's gold medal in Athens. "She hasn't played a lot of tennis in the last couple of months so it is a good opportunity for me, she's beaten me the last couple of times. I'll be going out there and putting in some big serves. I like the conditions here. The balls and court are taking my kick serves so I'll be doing a few of those out there."
Women's top seed Amelie Mauresmo certainly put in a far better performance that her previous round. The French woman dominated Anna Smashnova 6-2, 6-1. In a match between two players that are among the youngest in the main draw, 17-year-old Ana Ivanovic defeated 15-year-old Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 7-6.
Maria Sharapova charged through her match with Marissa Irvin, beating the American 6-2, 6-0 and the Wimbledon champion and second seed at the NASDAQ-100 Open will play Japan's Shinobu Asagoe who beat Francesca Schiavone 6-0, 6-3.
Columbian qualifier Catalina Castano scored an upset by beating the 11th seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland and Juan Carlos Ferrero appears to be finding the game he is looking for. The former world No. 1 Spaniard is yet another player on the comeback trail and this is his best tournament so far this year. His previous best was a third round at the Australian Open. Ferrero reached the fourth round here in Miami by beating Igor Andreev of Russia 6-4, 6-3.
In other results, Kim Clijsters thrashed 12th seed Nathalie Dechy 6-0, 6-2, Tatiana Golovin defeated Elena Bovina 6-3, 7-6 and will play Elena Demenetieva 6-3, 6-4. US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova ousted Dally Randriantefy the greatest player to ever come form Madagascar, 6-1, 6-3 and Kuznetsova will now face Ivanovic.
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Post by annie on Mar 28, 2005 12:33:41 GMT 3
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Post by annie on Mar 28, 2005 12:38:11 GMT 3
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Post by Andrada on Mar 28, 2005 13:27:07 GMT 3
Annie, Teresa and Lau, thanks for the pictures and the interviews/articles.  Unfortunately,i couldn't watch the match( Eurosport...  )...but from Marat's interview i can imagine how it was...  Anyway...we really should get past this...and let's hope,as Marat said, that "better times will come". |
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Post by annie on Mar 28, 2005 13:30:12 GMT 3
Annie, Teresa and Lau, thanks for the pictures and the interviews/articles. Unfortunately,i couldn't watch the match( Eurosport... )...but from Marat's interview i can imagine how it was... Anyway...we really should get past this...and let's hope,as Marat said, that "better times will come". U are very welcome. And I totally agree with you. Didn't watch the match and heard it on the news early this morning while getting ready for work. We'll get through this and so will Maratik. Life goes on, sun is shining and remember that nobody expects a Spanish inquisition. |
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Post by Andrada on Mar 28, 2005 13:35:50 GMT 3
Stuttering Safin crashes out Third seed Marat Safin went out of the Nasdaq-100 Open in the third round on Sunday when he was easily beaten 7-6, 6-1 by Dominik Hrbaty. The Slovak took just 76 minutes to overcome the Australian Open champion, exploiting the Russian's inability to control either his temper or his shots. Hrbaty took one hour 16 minutes to overcome Australian Open champion Safin, taking full advantage of his opponent's inability to keep either his temper, or his shots in court. After losing a first-set tiebreak, the Russian allowed his emotions to get the better of him in the second set, slamming down and kicking his racket and frequently throwing his arms up in exaggerated gestures of despair. Hrbaty soon went 3-1 up and when Safin's serve again proved to be as fragile as his composure, he broke again and served out for an easy win. "I really didn't play well. I just couldn't find my game," said Safin, who also lost in the third round of last week's Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells. "Normally, this month I never play well so for me it's nothing new." Safin's defeat should ensure that Andy Roddick hangs on to the number three position in the world rankings, despite retiring from his opening match here with a wrist injury. Safin was followed through the exit door by fifth-seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya, who lost 7-6 3-6 6-2 to Swede Thomas Johansson. Number eight David Nalbandian of Argentina also slumped to a 7-6 6-1 defeat by Spain's David Ferrer. www.eurosport.com/imgbk/tennis/all/big_md-i171249.jpg |
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Post by Andrada on Mar 28, 2005 13:40:44 GMT 3
Life goes on, sun is shining and remember that nobody expects a Spanish inquisition. Unfortunately,in Bucherest it's raining ( LOL ), but that's the right attitude, Annie! |
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Post by annie on Mar 28, 2005 16:30:46 GMT 3
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Post by SAFINNO1 on Mar 28, 2005 19:36:54 GMT 3
Thanks everyone for the reports and pcitures. It is really hard to keep up due to the time difference oh well at least it is over now.
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Post by annie on Mar 29, 2005 4:30:50 GMT 3
well, i didn't get to read or hear anything about it till now...and I feel really bad...as Marat was losing yesterday, i was having fun at my graduation and attending a couple of graduation parties...  anyway, yeah...let's forget about this and bring the clay on!! ;D |
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Post by Rucinski on Mar 29, 2005 5:08:42 GMT 3
Hello, Thanks for the pics, articles and more I really hate that he can't play here, cus it's my chance to see him, when he's in Europe the matches are like at 3 in the morning and I don't have cable in my room I guess he'll try again next year. Funny anwer about the doubles ;D |
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ANNA205
Full Member
Davai_safin
Posts: 274
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Post by ANNA205 on Mar 29, 2005 14:41:22 GMT 3
NASDAQ-100 OPEN: An interview with: MARAT SAFIN (March 27)
/noticias.info/ THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. You appeared to lack focus today. I mean, mentally you seemed a little bit at sea. Was there a reason for that?
MARAT SAFIN: No, just I really didn't play well. I didn't felt good on the court. I just couldn't find my game.
Q. Have you felt comfortable since the Australian?
MARAT SAFIN: Some moments, yeah. But like, normally, like I said, this month I never play well. So for me it's nothing new.
Q. You don't like the heat here?
MARAT SAFIN: No, I don't like the ‑‑ just for some reason I don't play well in both Indian Wells and Miami.
Q. So in the future are you planning to take March off?
MARAT SAFIN: No, just I have to come back. I have to come back and try to improve my record.
Q. Do you put more pressure on yourself now that you are the Australian Open champion? Does that make a tournament like this that you struggle at traditionally even harder?
MARAT SAFIN: No. Personally, I don't have any pressure but just, you know, I am not playing well which is okay, but it's little bit disappointing of course not doing well in the big tournaments.
But the people, the people are talking, so I guess, you know, everybody's ‑‑ everybody gives own opinion about how I'm playing and how well should I do and maybe I have a little pressure, and "Maybe he is not focused enough because he won Australian Open."
I don't really care about this, but I am trying my best.
Q. So you feel like you're being psychoanalyzed more since you won in Australia?
MARAT SAFIN: Me, I'm not. Like I said always, I've done my things that I had to do, you know. I won the two Grand Slams, you know. I came back from, you know, like five years I didn't win any major. I won another one. So for me it's a big thing, and I don't really care about opinion of the other people who tries to be, you know ‑‑ put me not under pressure, but the people who gives me an opinion, you know, about, "He should do that." I think I had a pretty decent career, so I don't have nothing, no pressure at all.
Q. How angry does it make you when you're out there on the court knowing you have the potential to play championship tennis but, like you said, you can't find your game on that one day?
MARAT SAFIN: But that's like everybody is different. You cannot compare anybody to anybody. So people, when they are playing, they are playing not really good but they can just run around the court and try to put as many balls as they can. Personally, when I'm playing bad, I'm playing really bad. There's nothing I can do. Serve doesn't work. Backhand doesn't go the way it should be. And of course the forehand struggles. So with this kind of game, it's difficult to beat anybody. So I have to keep on working, keep on waiting for the best times to come.
Q. You're a pretty young guy and you're saying you've had a pretty decent career.
MARAT SAFIN: Exactly. But you know how many times I hear ‑‑
Q. Do you want Grand Slam No. 3 or 4?
MARAT SAFIN: You know how many times I hear stories about me "He should have done that, he should have won five majors, 10 Masters Series events, he should have won like 30 tournaments"? Who cares. It's my career. I have done it for seven years that I am on the tour. I've been like four years in Top 10, Top 5, and then I won, like, two majors, five Masters Series, I won a Davis Cup, so it's pretty good.
Q. So what do you want now for yourself? You're still playing?
MARAT SAFIN: Maintain myself there where I was, where I am right now, actually. Keep on working. Of course more tournaments will come. Just I'm a little bit tired, you know, like every time I hear opinions, "I should be there," or, "He should be doing this." It gets a little tiring.
Q. This tournament notwithstanding, you are the only man who has a chance to win the calendar Grand Slam. Having won the Australian, you are the only person who can win all four majors this year.
MARAT SAFIN: I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. You're asking me already of winning another three majors. I mean, we are little bit ‑‑ little too far away for French Open, first of all.
Yes, there is a chance, but theoretically.
Q. Are you looking forward to the clay?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. I hope better times will come.
Q. You had a chance to gain ground on Roddick this week with his loss. Does it frustrate you that you weren't able to capitalize?
MARAT SAFIN: Who cares, to be honest. It's not like it's my goal, you know, pass Roddick. At the end of the season, when it counts basically. It's not like really ‑‑ I'm not counting the points right now because it's just the beginning of the season. The season is really still long. A lot of people, they gonna have ups and downs ‑ also me.
So we'll see the end of the year who gonna be more stable and who gonna be able to maintain himself in a higher position, and then we can discuss about this in October, if I've passed Roddick, Hewitt dropped, Federer, he gave us a chance for somebody to become No. 1 in the world, then it's interesting. Right now, it's not really important, you know. Important would be the ranking at the end of the season.
Q. You talked the other night about your efforts to try to hold your frustration in check during matches. Is that even harder to do on a hot day like this?
MARAT SAFIN: No, but I am used little bit to the heat. It has nothing to do with the heat.
Q. How did you think you did in that regard today, trying to stay after the match? Even in the second set, when it was getting away from you, keeping your frustration in check, how do you feel you did with that?
MARAT SAFIN: Wow...
The frustration not coming because ‑‑ it's difficult to deal, you know, with the situation when you are playing bad and you are losing, that's for sure. Everybody would have the same problem in my position for sure. I don't think if you would play the same way that I ‑‑ if you would feel the same thing what I felt today, I'm sure you would go crazy, also.
So let's not, you know, like to be, you know, "He should be little bit cooler," or, "He should pay more attention, concentrate more." It's really difficult to do on the court when basically you have your chances in the first set. Then it would be completely different story. But then the first set slipped, you know, slipped away. He was little bit lucky. Then the second set, you don't really find your game and the guy is playing better and better, and you're little bit ‑‑ you know that you had your chances in the first set, that second set would be a little bit different.
And it's just, you can see how the matches is going. It's really sad that you not be in the second round. So it's just kind of things that it's difficult to deal with in a match, especially in a match like this.
Q. You've played Dominik many times before. In your head‑to‑heads, it's 7‑all.
MARAT SAFIN: 7‑all.
Q. Therefore, coming into this match, you must have felt some pressure? Obviously, he knows how to play you. Did you decide to come with something different today, or did you have a specific strategy in your mind as to how you were going to win the match?
MARAT SAFIN: But as well is I know how to play against him. He's not going to come up with something incredible, new things to play against me. He's not going to play serve and volley or chip and charge all the time. He's not gonna do that. He's gonna stick to his game. It's me who has to be a little bit more creative and try to bring him in and all these things.
So I couldn't really make these shots to bring him in and make him slice, a little bit spin, change the rhythm, come to the net a couple of times. Just I couldn't find my game on the back ‑‑ from the baseline. That's where the trouble came. When I'm not feeling comfortable, he is feeling that, and he feels more confident, he's secure, and he's going for the shots. That's why the second set he played much better; he felt it.
Q. How did you feel after he won that let point in that tiebreaker? Were you thinking, "Today is not my day"?
MARAT SAFIN: It's frustrating when you have, you know, like when it's 6‑All in the tiebreak and you have this kind of just lucky shot, you know. Gives you set point and serving. So how...
Can't get more disappointing than that.
Q. You're one of the few top players that still plays doubles. How do you feel that's helping your game?
MARAT SAFIN: Not much (laughter).
I didn't really win a doubles match in a tournament since very long time. Trying to ‑‑ doubles is a little bit like a practice. You work on your serve, you work on your returns, you work on your volleys. Basically, if you don't go to practice, you go to play a doubles, let's put it this way ‑ and you get paid (smiling).
Q. Did you spend any time on South Beach when you're here?
MARAT SAFIN: No.
Q. Maybe you should start doing that?
MARAT SAFIN: I'm old enough to know what I have to do.
Q. Thought you could use another opinion.
MARAT SAFIN: (Smiling).
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Post by shacks on Mar 29, 2005 18:52:23 GMT 3
it took me a coulple of days to see things in perspective: better lose a match than be injured so, i guess it's for the best i don't think this article has been posted yet, so...here it is Safin Suffers Miami Meltdown Photo By Susan Mullane By Richard Pagliaro 03/27/2005 Festering frustration finally scalded Marat Safin like sunburn. It was then that the temperamental titan finally put his foot down — on the throat of the racquet he slammed to the ground in rage. Unfortunately for Safin, it was one of his most decisive moments of the second set. The Australian Open champion suffered another Miami meltdown today, succumbing to hard-hitting Dominik Hrbaty and his own inner demons in a 7-6(6), 6-1 third-round loss at the Nasdaq-100 Open. The hard-working Hrbaty, who was drenched in sweat during a Saturday morning practice session in preparation for this match, was one of only six players to beat top-ranked Roger Federer last year. Hrbaty advanced to the fourth round where he will face French teenager Gael Monfils, who scored his third successive three-set victory with a 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(1) victory over Hyung-Taik Lee. Safin, who sometimes seems to endure emotional extremes faster than Lleyton Hewitt can sprint from sideline to sideline, was stricken by a stroke by stroke struggle. "Personally, when I'm playing bad, I'm playing really bad. There's nothing I can do," Safin said. "Serve doesn't work. Backhand doesn't go the way it should be. And of course the forehand struggles. So with this kind of game, it's difficult to beat anybody. So I have to keep on working, keep on waiting for the best times to come." The 25-year-old Safin slammed Hrbaty, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, in the Australian Open quarterfinals. But on a muggy day where heat and humidity hung over the court like a curtain, the 26th-seeded Slovak earned a measure of revenge by firing fast, flat shots into the corners of the court to even his head-to-head record with Safin at seven wins apiece. Hrbaty thrives off pace and effectively played off the speed of Safin’s shots, frequently changing direction by hitting aggressive shots down the line. "I just wanted to risk it. Either I take all or I lose," Hrbaty said. "With him, you cannot play with his kind of player just to hold the ball there and hope he miss. I tried it to, you know, to play really fast, faster than him, and maybe when you get closer to the end of the set and you get little bit nervous, then you can make mistakes. But I won the first set with little bit luck. I mean, in tennis, sometimes you need also luck to win." A surly Safin showed cracks in his concentration at the start of the second set. It didn’t take a psychoanalyst to figure out Safin had issues. "After I won first set, I just felt very confident that I am not going to lose it, because I played first set well and I was serving much better in the second set and returning well. So that's why it seemed one-sided," Hrbaty said. " But he fight. I mean, he came back for first-set tiebreak, so you can't say he didn't fight. But he just played really bad. He probably, in the end of the match, he gave couple points. But it was more like he resigned because he knew that with his game he cannot win today." Next to world No. 1 Roger Federer, Safin is the most talented player on the planet, but a world of talent isn’t always enough to win matches. The story of Safin’s career is his constant struggle to find a way to win when he’s not playing his best tennis. Contrary to popular perception, Safin can and does fight hard — when he puts his head and heart into a match — but too often Safin looks like a man tormented by what’s gone wrong with his game rather than working with what is right to think his way through a match. Unable to channel his frustration into fuel for the competitive fire, Safin allowed the feeling of frustration to consume him. "Everybody would have the same problem in my position for sure. If you would feel the same thing what I felt today, I'm sure you would go crazy, also," Safin said. Since his inspired run to the Australian Open championship, Safin has won two matches in three tournaments. The hard-court spring season has traditionally been a time for Safin to fall. In seven career appearances on Key Biscayne, the man with two hard-court majors to his credit has compiled a 6-7 record and has surpassed the fourth round just once, when he fell to Lleyton Hewitt in a hard-fought quarterfinal in 2002. Still, the enigmatic, explosive Safin remains one of the sport’s most intriguing attractions — a man capable of blowing away almost any opponent or blowing up himself, sometimes within the course of the same match. "He's always same," Hrbaty said with a smile. "He is the kind of person that he has his own personality and he never change. I think that's nice because tennis needs personalties. The guy like him only can get more attention, more people coming to the tennis, more sponsors, more money. If there would be everybody same, then people don't be interested to come to tennis." |
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Post by SAFINNO1 on Mar 29, 2005 20:05:36 GMT 3
Thanks guys for all the information.
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)...but from Marat's interview i can imagine how it was... 
