Gerry Weber Open 2005 (Halle)

[lau]

I watched this one on TV and I though....: "I need a boyfriend with those abs...." You might not see it in the pic, but in motion was WOW!!








Red underwear, hahahaha ;D

[lau]

[lau]

Safin earns final date with Federer


11 June 2005

Marat Safin is hoping luck will be on his side when he tries to bring an end to Roger Federer's impressive 28-match winning streak on grass in the Gerry Weber Open final at Halle on Sunday.

Top seed Federer beat local favourite Tommy Haas 6-4 7-6 (11-9) in one hour and 37 minutes to take his place in the championship match against Safin, who saw off Argentina's Guillermo Canas 6-3 4-6 6-2. And the second-seeded Russian admits even he has been shocked by how well he has played this week on his least-favoured surface. "I am very surprised to do that well on grass because it isn't really suited for my game," Safin said after his semi-final victory. "I used to have problems because I am so tall and everything is so slippery but I have improved my movements. You need to play with confidence and I have gained a lot this week."

However, Safin, who is also carrying a niggling knee injury, is not overly confident he can produce a repeat of the performance which saw him win a thrilling semi-final against the Swiss star at the 2005 Australian Open.

He added: "I will try to be aggressive although it will be very tough. Maybe I can put some pressure on his serve and will scrape through with a little bit of luck and help."

Federer, the two-time defending Gerry Weber Open and Wimbledon champion, has also been taken aback by his displays this week.

"I am surprised to already play that well even after a limited preparation time," the world number one said.

"I have achieved what I wanted to achieve here in Halle and I am very confident I can keep my winning streak alive."

[Teresa]

lau

Thanks for even more great pics

*red underwear* ;D ;D hahahaha

BTW to get back to the topic
Do you know what time they start tomorrow?
I could not find it on GE site at all?

[lau]

Order of play (german time):

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
Center Court
Matches Start At: 1:45 PM
SINGLES FINAL
Roger FEDERER (SUI)vs Marat SAFIN (RUS)
followed by
DOUBLES FINAL
Yves ALLEGRO (SUI)/Roger FEDERER (SUI)vs Joachim JOHANSSON (SWE)/Marat SAFIN (RUS)

[lau]

OMG..... I tried hardly to writte a "report" of the match, but I really can´t. You don´t have an idea of what that means for a person that doesn´t speak english frecuently!!!!
This are just a few comments and some things I remember.
As most of you know, I don´t like grass court tennis at all !!! I first watched the Federer-Haas match. Great tennis, I must admit (although it was not of my favourite type, of course, Federer won......that`s not new..... :. Then Marat and Guille started warming up and playing the first set....... Marat started serving and was interrupted by an spectator that recieved medical treatment (the poor man left the court..). And.... after watching Roger`s match, that first set was really BORING!!!! ;D ;D. Some of you may dissagree, but for me was not a good one. But Marat broke Guille`s serve and that was enough for him (I think it was in the sixth game). HE MADE A LOT OF UE (Marat)!!! I could find the stats, but I think they were 18 (and Guille something like 5!!),....but I`m not sure, tough, so don´t take this as a fact.
After the first set finished, Guille recieved treatment in his left wrist (I though :"OMG, not again!!!!", he had surgery there and stayed a lot of time off court and it really seemed to bother him). His wrist was bandaged and once in a while they focused on Marat`s face.... in that moment I saw those WILD CURLS, hahahaha ;D ;D ;D. Guille`s wrist didn`t seem to bother him in the rest of the match...., and Marat`s knee seemed to be OK during the whole match
In the second set, Guille raised his level and Marat seemed to loose his focus.... He threw his racquet only on time (nothing spectacular, hahaha) and screamed a little in a point, but he stayed pretty calmed during the whole match . If I`m not wrong, Guille broke Marat`s serve two times and Marat broke back one time. I`m not sure, but I think Guille won the last game while Marat was serving 0-40 . Guille was really returning Marat`s serve...., really well. But I stayed calm. I`m not sure why, but I was incredibly calm (and Marat too!!! ). I was so sure that he would win the match, I was soo calm (or I was calm because he was playing against an argentine player I truly adore and I wouldn`t be as sad as usual if he loose..... ??)!!!
And finally, in the third set, it was all about Marat!! Marat showed some good tennis, really good one. And Guille was not playing in the same way. And Marat finished the match with an ace after several deuces and ADVs (hahaha, in the Safin way).
Just one thing more. In a moment they replayed in low motion how Marat returnet the ball to the other side of the court kicking it in a funny (and gracious way) and the argentine commentator (I must add that one of the best, in my opinion) said something like: "It`s incredible Safin`s (body`s) coordination for such a big guy". And he said during the match broadcast: "As usual, Safin looses and wins the points, he`s the one who decides". And was the key of the match, in my opinion. As I said previously, Marat had too many UEs (esp. in the first set)....., he needs to improve that for tomorrow`s final if he wants to win....
But, after all, I enjoyed a grass court match, hahahaha. ;D (but Marat was on court...., so I really don´t know why I enjoyed it....)
Seriously speaking, his serve was working fine and he hit some pretty, nice shots .
Oh!!! I forgot about this, in a moment Guille hit a .... lob (¿?) and Marat returned the ball easily. It was soo funny watching Guille`s gestures regreting about hitting that shot to a tall guy ;D ;D ;D. Really hilarious!!
I`m sorry I didn´t talk about shots and more technical issues, but as I`m typing this so many hours after the match I can´t remember details...

[Rucinski]

He won! I guess that "I can't go thru the second round" period is over, I'm really happy, but tomorrow is not gonna be easy, he has to play twice with Roger... and then Roger again, plus his knee is bad, it's gonna be complicated, hope he can do it

[Rucinski]

ohhh I forgot, I just noticed the red underwear, it's really funny, hehehe

[Madou]

lau said:

That interview is from the tournament`s site, madou.

Oh thanks Didn't see this "interview" feature... I was trying to look at the site in German... But by German lessons are so far away that I don't understand at all ^^

Also, thanks for the match report, it's very interesting ! I believe Marat can win today, but to succeed, he'll need to play his best tennis ever (Federer on grass, gosh !...That's even worse than Santoro !); and I'm still worried about his knee.
We'll see. It could be funny that one of them wins the singles and the other one wins the doubles
See you at 1.45pm, European time for the match ^^ (hope this ******* SB will work today !)

[Jamie]

last night's match was really marvelous i watched the 3rd set on line and couldn't help myself laughing whenever marat ran to the net. i suddenly realized that it's just so cute when he rushed to the net and won a point coz he's such a big guy. ;D

and i remembered that once when marat threw his racquet the ball kid ( is it the word?) picked up his racquet and handed it to him. that moment was also hilarious! what's more, i really envied that kid ( i thought it should be a girl) ;D i always dream about picking up the racquets for marat during the match but now i'm just too old to be a ball girl.

about the final... i don't expect him to beat roger on grass. as all of you know, grass is for the cow and all the chinese fans call roger 'cow' as his nick name a victory over federer on grass might be too much to ask for. so i'm just hoping for the best but expecting the worst. ( but even 'the worst' is already great enough!)
GO, MARAT! if only you learn how to enjoy the match on grass, wimbledon will no longer be the nightmare.

[Jasmine]

rucinski said:

ohhh I forgot, I just noticed the red underwear, it's really funny, hehehe

I and my brother usully agree that Marat should play as the next "Superman" . Now he wear Red underwear?

Hollywood!! Please take a look at Mr.Marat Safin as a candidate... ;D

[Jasmine]

Wow! Marat in Final of GRASS for Single and Double at the same time...

Can't believe. I don't remember the last time he reach the final of any grass.

Go Marat Go!

[Madou]

There was no last time, that's what really fun ! Before Halle, Marat's best performance on Grass was Wimbledon 2001 with a QF.
And perhaps it's also his first doubles final ? Does somebody know about that ?

[Jamie]

no, it's not his first doubles.
as far as i remembered, he has won one double title and his partner was ROGER FEDERER! i hope i am right because the fact makes their finals even funnier!

and i also remembered that marat once won a champion title on grass. it's not a very big tournament but i'm sure he has won one.

i'm looking for some exact information...

[Jamie]

yes, quite sure about the doubles title now. his only doubles title was won with Roger in Gstaad 2001.