|
|
Post by MariaV on Nov 11, 2004 1:19:39 GMT 3
Hmm, about the draw - Roddick, Coria, Henman. We'll see. Impossible to say about Roddick's or Coria's form after injuries, they do lack match practice (Andy admitted it in Paris after losing to Max) so that may be good. But it'll depend on how Marat's prepared too. I hope he'll be ready to fight.... and not making excuses like bad wind, bad courts, bad balls etc. etc. this time. I haven't got my hopes very high though.... Just wanna see some good tennis.
|
|
Karen
Full Member
Posts: 493
|
Post by Karen on Nov 11, 2004 1:57:22 GMT 3
I'm hoping for some good tennis, also. And definetly hoping there will be no wind, please no windy conditions because my tickets are for the 7pm 11/19 match and the semi's on Saturday. Praying he will make it to the semi's. I also had a ticket for the final but can't stay, my brother comes home from Iraq on the day of the final. Had to make a choice and chose to be home when my brother arrives. It's gonna be a great weekend if all goes well.  |
|
|
|
Post by Teresa on Nov 11, 2004 3:54:22 GMT 3
I don't like the outside format either. Everyone has played indors for weeks and to change to an outdoor court, it just isn't the same. Anyone that plays tennis knows that it is a big deal from indoors to outdoors. My coach always says it's actually harder to play outside because everything is so open, you see things differently. So not happy it's outdoors. I agree with you Karen, and think that Marat's has many valid points of concern in this regard. AND.......btw WELCOME to the board LOL, you go girl, hope Marat sees you (and of course Mattress Mac!!) Hope you have a great time in Houston, and a lovely weekend with your brother  |
|
|
|
Post by Teresa on Nov 11, 2004 4:00:18 GMT 3
. But it'll depend on how Marat's prepared too. I hope he'll be ready to fight.... and not making excuses like bad wind, bad courts, bad balls etc. etc. this time. I haven't got my hopes very high though.... Just wanna see some good tennis. Maria>>> I don't think its all 'excuses' Marat has valid points, BUT playing outside is going to be tricky. Hopefully this is one of the mindsets that Peter will help Marat to overcome, and he will just focus on the game rather on the wind, bad bounce etc, to just try and focus and win the match, and hopefully too Marat will enjoy Houston, he deserves to, it should be fun for him and I hope it will be, a good memory. The draw is not so bad really, there is a rumour that Coria might pull out and Andre will take his place, but either way, I think Marat can beat Coria if he plays, we have seen that he can beat Andre, and I think he can beat Henman and Roddick, so its not so bad really. Roger has to get past Hewitt, even if he has a good track record against Hewitt, and Moya, I dont think Gaudi will be much of a problem for him. Lord I hope I am right. And like you, I am hoping for some good tennis |
|
|
|
Post by Teresa on Nov 11, 2004 4:02:54 GMT 3
bmen, Hi and welcome to the board. Thanks for posting the draw and btw its never to late to convert to the Marat Safin fan club!  |
|
|
|
Post by Teresa on Nov 11, 2004 4:04:52 GMT 3
wouldn't that be a great early christmas gift? not only for Marat but for all of us too!!! Annie Hi, yes that would be GREAT ;D |
|
|
|
Post by sirius on Nov 11, 2004 12:28:39 GMT 3
HEY BMEN!!! WELCOME TO THE GANG!!!!
KAREN>>> congrats on getting the tix... and congrats on your brother coming home...and have fun pissing off mac!
ok...draw's not ezackly what i predicted but HEY! it's the top 8...either way...it'd be sth like that.
so... i think marat's got a good chance. IF as usual.... *list all usual reasons*
CMON MARAT!!!!!!!!
oh....and the dubs draw.. todd/jonas are in the same group as bob/mike! CMON TODD!!!!!!!!
|
|
ANNA205
Full Member
Davai_safin
Posts: 274
|
Post by ANNA205 on Nov 11, 2004 18:02:56 GMT 3
here another one hope he will win this tournament lol ;D Safin regains dominant form By Scott Riley, Tennis Editor Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Roger Federer might be in a league of his own right now, but Russian star Marat Safin appears to have regained the form that delivered him a U.S. Open championship four years ago. The mighty Safin is freshly poured steel hot, having just won his second Tennis Masters shield in a three-week span this past weekend in Paris. Just two weeks earlier he captured the Madrid Masters by beating legendary American Andre Agassi in the semis and fierce Argentine David Nalbandian in the final at Rockodromo. Safin's lucrative win in Paris came when he overwhelmed Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek in the title match, but his week also featured a key victory over his fellow former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in the quarters. He also cooled off hot Argentine Guillermo Canas in his round-of-four matchup before exacting a bit of revenge on Stepanek, who stunned the powerful Russian in his native Moscow just three weeks earlier. Safin's popular Parisian run gave him career title number 14, pushed his '04 on-court earnings to just under $2 million and sent his career prize money over the $10.5 million mark. He also joined the legendary Boris Becker as the only other three-time winner of the Paris Masters. The 6-foot-4 Safin also titled in Beijing in September, which means he's won three of his last six events and improved to 3-2 in his quintet of '04 finals. The up-and-down Safin overcame a dismal stretch during the summer portion of the season, when he dropped four straight matches at one point, including three straight opening-round setbacks, one of which came at the hands of fellow Russian Dmitry Tursunov at Wimbledon. He would go on to suffer a second-round loss at the Athens Games and a first-round stunner against seemingly-washed up Swede Thomas Enqvist at the U.S. Open. But following the loss to Enqvist in New York, Safin roared back to rattle off nine straight wins, including his title in Beijing, before succumbing to Andy Roddick in Bangkok. And since that "Big Apple" loss against Enqvist, the formidable Russian is 22-3, including all three of his '04 crowns. The 24-year-old Safin will be seeded fourth at next week's season-ending Tennis Masters Cup event in Houston, where he'll carry in a five-match winning streak and a 12-1 record over his last 13 outings. Safin stamped his place on the tennis map four years ago when he pasted American great Pete Sampras in the final at the 2000 U.S. Open. It appeared as though the sky was the limit for the big Russian, but he's struggled with injuries and immaturity over the past few years and failed to live up to the lofty expectations brought on by his wealth of tennis talent. He, of course, is no stranger to an occasional smashing of the racquet and an argument with a chair umpire. But 2004 has marked a resurgence for the charismatic star, who's piled up a 50-21 record and a trio of titles this season, his best one in two years -- but one that's still a far cry from his brilliant breakout campaign in 2000, when he went 73-27 and led the ATP with seven titles on his way to finishing No. 2 in the world. After dropping all the way to No. 77 by the end of last season (12-11 with nary a title), Safin has since climbed to No. 4 in the entry rankings, trailing only Federer, Roddick and Hewitt. Since his run at the 2000 U.S. Open, Safin has failed to nail down a Grand Slam title, corralling a pair of runner-up finishes at the Australian Open in 2002 and earlier this year. But he seems to have regained that form that can produce a major title result, if he can get past Federer, who whipped the Russian in January's Aussie Open finale. Federer is a dominant 5-1 lifetime against Safin, including a perfect 2-0 versus the Russian this year. Is Safin closing the gap between himself and Federer? Maybe we'll find out next week in Houston, where the exclusive eight-player Masters Cup field will also feature the Wimbledon runner-up Roddick, the U.S. Open runner-up Hewitt, Carlos Moya, French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria, Tim Henman and Roland Garros titlist Gaston Gaudio. The remarkable Federer is the reigning Masters Cup champ and gathered three quarters of this year's Grand Slam hardware (Aussie Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open). In all fairness to Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Safin is probably the best Russian player we've ever seen, he just needs to add to his Grand Slam trophy case, where he still only holds one piece of hardware (2000 U.S. Open) to Kafelnikov's two (1996 French Open and 1999 Aussie Open). Kafelnikov, for what it's worth, also secured an Olympic gold medal in 2000. Safin went a respectable 9-4 at the Slams this year, but ended on a sour note by incurring losses in his last two outings, at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. It's hard to get inside Safin's mind, but my guess is he's looking forward to a strong 2005 season, with the first major of the year coming in Melbourne in just two months. 11/09 13:39:34 ET |
|
|
|
Post by MariaV on Nov 12, 2004 1:14:55 GMT 3
SCHEDULE Masters Cup Houston 2004:
Monday, November 15
Starting at 1 p.m.
(1)R Federer (SUI) vs (8)G Gaudio (ARG)
Starting at 7 p.m.
(3)L Hewitt (AUS) vs (5)C Moya (ESP)
Tuesday, November 16
Starting at 1 p.m.
(4)M Safin (RUS) vs (6)G Coria (ARG)
Starting at 7 p.m.
(2)A Roddick (USA) vs (7)T Henman (GBR)
I'll be deprived of sleep again but good, it's the last week with Marat this year.
|
|
|
|
Post by sirius on Nov 12, 2004 2:46:45 GMT 3
pffffffttt.... 1pm Houston time
3am Singapore/Hong Kong
2am Bangkok
6am Melbourne (lucky)
7pm London
8pm Europe
11pm UAE
1pm Iowa...pffffttt
WHY IS RODDICK ON NIGHT SCHEDULE!!! PUT MARAT AT NIGHT!!!!!!! I WANT TO SLEEP U pffffttt...
|
|
|
|
Post by Teresa on Nov 12, 2004 3:30:00 GMT 3
LOL Maria so will I!! From what I can figure out, I get a couple matches early evening, but most are late at night (not live) Maria >>> thanks for the schedule, I was wondering when it would be available, now that I have seen it I am getting butterflies. And Jiat I bet they put Andy on night cause he likes playing at night, and remember he is the American so he will be favoured,  they know our habibi hates to get up early so of course they are going to put him on early. BUT on the plus side Marat gets one more day to rest, adjust to the time change, his surroundings, and practise. Also I have been reading so many articles and I am begining to feel that Roger's injury is well behind him, but he is happy to let people keep saying he is injured I think also Coria might be more health than he wants people to believe, and as for Andy he prob has been practising every day for hours since his early departure from Europe, so he is going to be ready. He wants this trophy. But we will see, and I feel sure Peter and Marat are well aware of the kinds of mental games that can be played and pushed around. They will be ready. |
|
|
|
Post by Jasmine on Nov 12, 2004 4:42:27 GMT 3
This is unfair coz the tournament is outdoor. If one guy get chances to play evening sessions all the time, he can do better than the others who been grilled under sunlight. Ok, try to be optimistic, at least Marat get one match in the evening, the one with Andy. Poor me, 2am in the morning.  If this isn't Marat, I can make easier decision. I wish Marat can be the 1st in blue group, then Aussy Open 2004 rematch will occur in Final not Semi. ;D |
|
|
|
Post by annie on Nov 12, 2004 6:22:32 GMT 3
darn...darn...darn...   i'm gonna have to get up at dawn again if it's gonna be shown LIVE...oh, the sacrifices i make just to see Marat playing...God, please make it all worth it and help Marat win? please?  i promise to focus on my studies really hard after this tournament... Annie Hi, yes that would be GREAT ;D Hi also Teresa!! right, it's first on my christmas wish list...hope santa gets it real soon ;D ...it's only a little more tha a month before christmas and less than a week before the TMC |
|
|
|
Post by Vassily on Nov 12, 2004 12:37:55 GMT 3
Jiat, sleep during the Coria match. Marat should win. And if not, the hell with him, ir wouldn't be worth it.
|
|
Saskia
Full Member
A boomerang that doesn't come back is called a stick ;-)
Posts: 227
|
Post by Saskia on Nov 12, 2004 14:36:56 GMT 3
Now that is finally a nice schedule. Cos as Eurosport is promoting to showing the masters, tehy only show 1 match, at 8 pm. Which is marat's match on tuesday. It's been since Roland Garros when I saw him play, so very pleased with it.
Funny story, friend of my mums was here this morning and we were talking about the tournament in Rotterdam. So she asked me whether Marat is signed up yet, cos he normally comes. And I'm like no not yet and not to sure if he's coming cos I don't think it fits into his schedule.They both went on how he should come and how good he is playing again. Then remembering Marat when he was 19, playing in Rotterdam for the first time as a nobody. And how we all sat there going like wow he's cute!!! And some ladies sittin gin front were goign: nice legs!!! LOL
|
|
If this isn't Marat, I can make easier decision. I wish Marat can be the 1st in blue group, then Aussy Open 2004 rematch will occur in Final not Semi. ;D
