Newspress.com
December 1, 06
Safin seethes as Russia, Argentina split at Davis Cup final STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) - Marat Safin was angry with himself, puzzled by the choice of court surface and frustrated at his inability to put Russia in command on opening day of the Day Cup final.
With his aces offset by his double-faults, Safin lost to David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 Friday, leaving Argentina and Russia tied 1-1 in the best-of-five showdown. Nikolay Davydenko beat Juan Ignacio Chela 6-1, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the opening match, his first victory in six meetings against the Argentine.
In Saturday's doubles, Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny play Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri. In Sunday's decisive reverse singles, the captains can change lineups up to an hour before play.
''I feel I'm playing very well,'' said Nalbandian, who got a boost from an enthusiastic contingent of Argentine fans that featured soccer great Diego Maradona.
Nalbandian broke in the first game when Safin double-faulted after four aces and a flurry of deuces, setting a pattern. Safin had 21 aces but seven double-faults - several at key moments.
He blamed the court's indoor carpet - selected by Russia coach Shamil Tarpishchev - and said the surface suited Nalbandian ''perfectly.''
''It was hard to find my game,'' Safin said. ''It was hard to play my tennis on this surface. I'm very upset that I couldn't bring my team a point.'' Russia, unbeaten in Davis Cup play at home in 11 years, is making its fourth appearance in the final and looking for its second title win after winning in France in 2002. Argentina has never won the trophy, losing to the United States in its only final appearance in 1981.
With former Russian president Boris Yeltsin in attendance, Davydenko was playing at the venue where he won the Kremlin Cup in October. He overcame a shaky start in his early service games to win the first two sets before a third-set stumble.
''The final, at home - how could I not be nervous?'' Davydenko said. ''I lost the third set because I made so many mistakes. In the fourth set, I made fewer and played well.''Safin predicted Davydenko would find it difficult to beat Nalbandian on this surface, but stressed he was not blaming Tarpishchev for choosing it. Safin also apologized to the coach for what appeared to be heated words on the sidelines.Safin said the Russian squad had trained on the carpet when it was placed on top of a wood parquet. The surface played differently during competition when it was placed on cement, he added.
After losing the first set 6-4, Safin survived two break points and fired an ace to open the second set, but ceded his next service game when he double-faulted at deuce and then netted a backhand. Nalbandian broke again at the next opportunity. Although Safin broke to pull to 5-3, the Argentine took the set.
The two traded serves in the third set before Safin handed his opponent two break points, and Nalbandian took a 4-3 lead when Safin sent a shot long on the second point. Russia questioned the call in one of 29 challenges - nine of them successful - using the Hawk-Eye video system in its Davis Cup debut. The review showed Safin's shot was clearly out. Nalbandian took the third set 6-4 to win the match.
Davydenko survived break points to win his first two service games and then control the first two sets. Chela regrouped to win the third set 7-5. The Argentine took the first game of the fourth set at love, but Davydenko recovered strongly from 40-love in Chela's next service game, moving ahead 4-1.
After a timeout for a thigh massage, Chela drew to 4-3, but Davydenko ended his next service game with his seventh ace and captured the match with a service winner.
Chela is ranked 30 spots below Davydenko at No. 33 but had beaten him three times on clay and twice on hard courts.
''I started well today but didn't rise to the occasion, while he played well on key points,'' Chela said. ''And we never played before on this surface, which also was a factor.''
AP-WS-12-01-06 1638EST
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but if Nalbandian played better than him today.... then it's not too sad I guess... 
but if Nalbandian played better than him today.... then it's not too sad I guess... 
Sixpack guard 
.I have a very poor program,with only three options,and it’s ussually possible to capture only pictures with it.I tried a thousand times to capture a video[played in some player like BS ],but it would be only black pic 
And I have the same problem doing video caps. ;D ;D The truth is that I never took the time to look for decent software to make them either LOL ;D ;D
