I found it in maratsafin.com:
estorilopen06.blogspot.com/Friday, May 05, 2006
Thursday - Day 5
Today I arrived at 10h30, earlier than usual. I thought that maybe if Safin was going to practice again with Tursunov since they played doubles later in the day, and because Tursunov also had a singles match scheduled for the 14h00, maybe their practice would start earlier than usual. I was wrong. I saw Tursunov practicing early indeed, but Safin was nowhere to be found.
I had to wait until 13h00 for his practice to start. To kill time and because I was not interested in the matches that were being played at the time, I went to the Internet zone to check my e-mails and read Tursunov's blog. When I was coming back to the Centralito I saw Peter at the gate of the Players Lounge, a sign Safin was coming out to practice. He appeared accompanied by another tennis player, a young girl who was looking up to him all smiles and, remembering Tursunov's blog, I wondered if she was the Katerina he talked about who was trying to catch Marat's attention. I had seen Katerina Bohmova play on the first day, but I couldn't really say if this girl I saw was her. I smiled to myself and thought "Well, even young future tennis stars have their dreams, just like any other girl!"
My friend hadn't arrived yet and because Peter had asked us to tell him the address of the website with the photos of players in their rooms at Miami, and she was the one who knew the mentioned address, I called her to say that Marat was going to practice and asked when she was coming. She was late, so I said I would follow him and as soon as I knew the number of the court he would be in I would send her a text message.
Marat went to court 6 to practice with Moya. Since, surprisingly, I hadn't seen Moya all day yesterday
and I was already missing those so frequent sightings of him, I was glad to see him. This time the crowd watching the practice was bigger than in earlier days, but many left before the training ended.
Marat was still not happy with his strokes and my already dimming hopes that he could win the doubles match became even slimmer. Suddenly he bent over and rubbed his left knee. That worried me. My immediate thoughts were: "please, please, I can cope with your lack of fitness and with bad games, but please God let the knee be alright!" Peter asked what was happening with the knee and although I didn't hear Marat's answer I saw him made a flexion with his leg, maybe to exemplify what he was feeling. The rest of the practice went smoothly with Marat only once again rubbing his knee, and I hoped the sensation in the knee might be just a feeling, perhaps caused by the inconstant weather.
I kept looking in the direction of the main avenue waiting to see my friend coming but she still didn't appear. I was getting worried because I didn't know if we would have another opportunity to talk to Peter that day, so I decided to talk to him myself and arrange to meet him later during the doubles match so we could give him the asked for web address.
When the practice ended, Peter was the first to move towards the door of the court, and pushing gently the kids out of the way I opened the door and took a step inside.
"Hi" he said smiling.
"Hi. Do you remember me?" I asked.
"Yes."
"...About the photos from the website..." I specified.
"Yes. I talked to his managers and they said that's not a problem. They knew about the photos. It seems that was a promotion and they agreed to it."
"Oh, ok then."
"But it's good you noticed. Thank you!"
"No problem. I really wondered about the photos because none of them was outrageous or something so somebody must have been making a selection." I said.
"Yeah, well it's ok, because they knew about it."
"Ok, it's better this way then." I said smiling and stepping aside to let him pass. Then Peter said good bye and went away.
The other kids looked at me: "Are they coming out?" they asked, thinking that I might have some inside information since I was talking so easily in English with Marat's coach (when I think about it, even I am surprised how I could talk so often and so naturally to him
Yes, eventually." I answered.
And then, eventually, they came out. I searched my bag for the photo I wanted Marat to autograph, a pen and also a notebook for Moya to sign. The kids rushed to Marat and Moya and suddenly I noticed the Russian gentleman I had talked to on the first day. He also recognized me and smiled his hello. He wanted a photo with Marat and talked to him in Russian. Marat obviously agreed because the Russian man then looked around and asked me to take the photo. I instantly dropped my bag, notebook, pen, picture and coat on the floor and picked up the camera. He told me where to press and while he and Marat posed and smiled for the camera I took the picture.
"Another one!" asked the man.
"Another one?" I asked confused. "Oh, ok."
He must be afraid the first hasn't come out right, I thought. Men! They're all the same, never trusting women when it comes to electronic appliances
I gave him the camera back and when I had managed to pick up my belongings from the floor and brush the clay dust out of them, Marat and Moya where already going away, signing autographs as they walked. Oh, well, it's not this time I'll get mine yet!
I then went to find my friends at the Centralito. They were watching the match between Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain and the Argentinean Carlos Berloq. The first set had gone to a tie-break and they were only starting the second. At the top of the court, David Nalbandian watched his countryman leaning relaxedly to the fence that separates the stands from the corridor to the Players Lounge.
I decided to go eat something at the bar near by, and as I walked the path along the top of the stands, I looked over the fence to the tents that form the Players Lounge mounted right on the other side of it. If one is not very small one can easily see over the fence, and through the windows in the tents we can look into the buffet bar, where the players eat, and into theLounge where they hang around a pool table and several games machines. Marat and Peter, being so tall, were easily spotted at the buffet.
I really wanted to see Tursunov's game against a young Portuguese player, Frederico Gil, ranked 200 and something in the ATP ranking, so I decided to go to the Centre Court for that purpose. In my mind there was no doubt Tursunov would win, but I still wanted to see how Frederico would react to a match in the Centre Court against a player more than 200 places above him in the rankings.
My friends stayed at the Centralito and I went to the Centre Court alone. When I got there the first set was already over with Tursunov winning it 6-4. And then the surprise happened! Frederico played very solid, defending everything Dmitry threw at him and never letting himself be upset by his opponent's high rank, the blasting wind that blew over the court or the incessant cheers of the crowd, and ended winning the match 4-6; 6-4; 6-1. As the crowd wildly applauded and the young Portuguese fell flat on his back on the floor, still unable to believe what he had done, I must say in Tursunov's defence that the weather was horrible with sudden blasts of wind that lifted huge clouds of dust into the hair, blinding everyone. And I must also say that he was very graceful in defeat. He congratulated Frederico with an open handshake, pulled him near to said something in his ear and then patted him in the back. If for anything else, this attitude, his sympathy off court and his witty blog have won himself a fan here!
My friends had come to the Centre Court, still in time to see the matchpoint and we decided to stay there to see the match of Moya vs Marcaccio. To be honest I didn't really pay much attention to the match. I was already thinking about the doubles match of Safin/Tursunov vs Fyrstenberg/Matkowksi at the Centralito and was worrying the Moya vs Marcaccio's match wouldn't end in time for us to go there. And I was also thinking that after that unexpected defeat, Tursunov's motivation must be completely gone which, added to Safin's instability and his current lack of confidence, didn't promise much in a match against the number 1 seeded Polish doubles team.
Again, we had to ask for a wheelchair to take my friend in crutches from theCentre Court to the Centralito. In spite of all the delay in getting the chair we arrived to Centralito still in time to see the doubles teams warming up. The Centralito is a very nice and cosy court and I had hoped to see Safin play there all week. It is the oldest and the only permanent court in the complex and was built with limestone stands, topped by a wide tiled path at the top of them that goes around the whole court. On each corner of the court there is a little house painted in light-yellow and covering the mentioned path and linking these four houses there are pillar arches topped with a red tiled roof. The stands are very close to the court and we really have the feeling that we are seeing the match almost on the lap of the players. In a certain way it reminds me of the Centre Court at the Rome Masters.
As the match began I kept telling myself that this was a lost match already, trying to convince myself not to get my hopes up in case of another disappointment. This would be the last match I would see of Safin in the EO 2006, so I'd better just enjoy it without great expectations.
But, as it had already been shown before, things don't always go according to logic. Both Safin and Tursunov played a very solid game and even though Safin still argued a bit to himself here and there and both players showed signs of frustration, with Safin breaking a racquet in the beginning of the match, and Tursunov breaking one of the publicity stands that surround the court with his racquet, they managed to break the Fyrstenberg/Matkowksi team in the 9th game of the fist set and then served to conquer it 6-4.
The second set was very balanced with both teams exchanging breaks in the beginning of the set and then holding their serve to take the set to a tie-break which was won by the Polish team. At a certain point in the set, Safin returned a serve sending a ball to the net and promptly said the ball was faulty. The Portuguese umpire Carlos Ramos (the one of the 2005 AO final) inspected the ball and then gave it back to the players saying that if they though it was not good to throw it away. Tursunov promptly hit the ball sending it over the court and into the avenue outside. Everybody laughed. Then Carlos Ramos asked the Polish team if they agreed to replay the point. They argued that they didn't see a reason for it, since the ball was sent to the net and Safin, with fair play, agreed with them and conceded with all sportsmanship the point to them.
I kept thinking that the Russian team deserved to win the match because they had both experienced painful defeats in their singles games but still here they were, with gritted teeth, and their motivation to win the match as hig has ever. And maybe it would also be good for Safin's confidence to play at least one more doubles match this week. With nothing to loose or to prove in doubles, he might relax enough to allow his game to start to flow.
My prayers were heard and Safin/Tursunov won the third set tie-break with a 10-5 score. I couldn't stop smiling as I applauded, with only one thought in my mind: "He'll be here at least one more day! He will be here at least one more day!"Before leaving the court Safin signed some autographs and gave his broken racquet to the Russian gentleman. And latter, as the organization mini bus took us from the Jamor tennis complex to the parking lot, the Russian gentleman held the broken racquet on his lap all the way during that short trip. And I thought: that is what being a fan is like, to passionately support our chosen player, no matter what.
A.C, May the 4th, 2006
;D ;D ;D
they are all great
;D
