Thailand Open 2006

[edible]

Safin will play Julien Benneteau in the second round.

[yse]

[Annie]

[edible]

His hairstyle reminds me of Youzhny's.

[Annie]

[edible]

admin said:

Stop scratching your ass, Marat.

[Mitya'sGirl]

f***! He was so cute just a couple of days ago!!! And now??? Don't like THAT! Definitely!

[Annie]

Love the last one ;D ;D ;D

[yse]

[marats]

Thanks all ........... info ............pics ........... !!!

[emma]

Thanks for the pictures ladies!!!!

[Annie]

Safin rules out swift return to winning ways
Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:23 AM BST

By Martin Petty

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Former world number one Marat Safin has warned people not to expect too much of him this year, even though his stuttering career is showing signs of picking up.

The twice grand slam winner is slowly climbing back up the rankings after a knee injury pushed him out of the top 100, but he says it is too soon to talk about titles.

"I'm happy with what I'm doing," Safin told Reuters. "I'm not looking for anything, I'm just taking it match by match.

"I'm hungry to play, but I'm not going to talk about winning titles."

Safin is now ranked 72nd and has not won a tournament since January 2005, when he beat home favourite Lleyton Hewitt in the final to win the Australian Open.

He returned to the sport in February this year after six months on the sidelines, but has struggled to regain his form.

His lowest point was an embarrassing straight-sets loss to 512th-ranked South African Wesley Whitehouse at the RCA Championships in Indianapolis in July.

But the burly Russian says he does not care what his critics are saying and feels no pressure to return to winning ways in a hurry.

"In tennis, there are good times, and there are bad times," the former U.S. Open champion said.

"I've got nothing to lose because I've not had a high ranking for a long time.

"I don't care about what people say. I don't care about the pressure. It's just good to be back and I'm ready to compete."

The 26-year-old is currently without a coach having taken a break from trainer Peter Lundgren, who helped steer Roger Federer to his first Wimbledon title in 2003.

Safin declined to say whether he was planning to rejoin the Swede in the future.

"Yes, I'm without a coach," he said, "but I don't want to talk about that now."

[Annie]

Safin gives lengthy interview after beating Kim


Marat Safin recovered from a slow start to beat Kevin Kim 2-6 6-1 6-4 to move into the second round.

The mercurial Russian who had come straight from his Davis Cup win in Moscow where he contributed to the victory over the US on clay, admitted that the change of surface had been difficult for him to adjust to:

"It was a little bit complicated with the change of surface; there very slow and here is pretty fast", Safin said. "Difficult conditions and had to adapt which cost me one set to get used to the court. Then I started to play much better; I was pretty satisfied with the way I'm playing. Started to play well and find some rhythm."

"I'm pretty happy with the way I'm moving and my knees are holding up. Hopefully it will stay this way all this week."

Safin and Blake are favoured to face off in a possible semi-final particularly in the absence of Marcos Baghdatis who withdrew and Juan Carlos Ferrero who lost yesterday to Mischa Zverev. However, the former world number 1 is very aware that he cannot afford to look beyond his next opponent:

"I'm facing a very difficult match. (Julien) Benneteau is a very good player; he made the quarterfinal of Roland Garros, it's not going to be an easy match. If I get through it's going to be even more difficult."

Safin seems to be playing better tennis of late, and so I asked him if he was enjoying the freedom of playing without a coach.
"It has been a very difficult year. I had to take some time away from Peter. My head was spinning; I didn't know what to do. I was completely misguided; didn't feel like I was playing my game. I wanted to think about these things by myself; decide what is good and what is bad, so I can make the right choice without any mistakes. At my age you can't afford to make many mistakes because there are not many years left. You want to cruise through the last 4 or 5 years without any upset and stupid mistakes because already I've done a lot in the past, so just make sure everything goes well smoothly. Everything is going pretty well actually."

Safin still believes he can make it back into the top 10 and has made it his priority:
"That's my goal; there is no other reason for me to play tennis", Safin insisted. "Money I have; only about what to achieve. My biggest priority is to come back to the top 10, then I think I will have a couple of chances to win a Grand Slam with a good draw and a little bit of luck; basically that is why I'm still playing."

Marat Safin has always been particularly adoring to his female fans, so did he feel that his short hair was more appealing to them?

"I don't know", a smiling and slightly embarrassed Safin insisted. "That is a question you have to put to the fans."

Does he prefer it shot or long?

"Like this it's easier", he said pulling at the short strands.

You used to have a ponytail?

"Yeah, I looked like a woman!" (Loud laughter) LMAO ;D

What other hairstyle after this Marat?

"Not much you can do with this!" he said tugging once again at his locks.

Andre Jones
Impact Stadium
Bangkok

[emma]

Thanks Annie!

[edible]

Henman outplays frustrated Murray at Thai Open
By Martin Petty
BANGKOK, Sept 27 (Reuters) -
...

Former world number one Marat Safin of Russia got past a tough first round test against Kevin Kim of the United States, going through 2-6 6-1 6-4.
Safin forced his way back into the match after losing the first set and said he was pleased with his form after a lengthy spell sidelined with a knee injury.
"I'm very happy with the way I'm moving and the way my knee is holding up," he told reporters.
"I'm facing some difficult matches in the next few rounds, even more difficult than today. It's not going to be easy here."

...