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Post by maryb on Feb 18, 2009 1:37:50 GMT 3
Decided to watch the Simon v Dimitrov match. Glad I did. Young Dimitrov just lost 4-6 6-3 7-5, but what a fight. He was 5-2 up in the third set, but Simon blasted in 5 games in a row. Pity. Would have been nice to see the boy cause another upset. ;D Definitely a star in the making. Think he looks like a cross between the Big Yin and Maestro, with a bit of Richard Kraijek thrown in ... think I may have overdosed on the medicine ... time to pull the quilt over my head again.  FG |
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Post by SAFINNO1 on Feb 18, 2009 1:43:49 GMT 3
Marseille - Clement nips Safin in three
2/17/09 9:45 PM | Cheryl Murray
Arnaud Clement upset Russian Marat Safin in the first round of Marseille on Tuesday. Safin got into the tournament on a wildcard.
Marat Safin says that 2009 will be his last year on tour – the announcement came as a surprise to some. While the Russian struggles with consistency, but he remains in the top 25 in the world. Arnaud Clement’s ranking has slipped to 78 in the world, but he has traditionally played well in Marseille – he took the title in 2006.
The first set was business as usual for Safin. The two men traded breaks of serve early in the set, but Safin was able to take advantage of Clement’s poor first serve percentage (44% for the set) to secure a second break for the set.
After the first set, Safin’s forehand started to desert him. Routine forehands were hit into the center of the net, or sent a meter behind the baseline. The obvious collapse brought the French crowd into the match, and as a result Clement began to gain more confidence. The Frenchman’s first serve percentage rose to 68%; he did not face a single breakpoint as he leveled the match at one set a piece.
Safin’s collapse continued into the third set. He struggled to hold, but managed to keep the match even until 2-2. From that point on, the Russian was unable to win even a single game. Clement seemed to realize that the correct tactic was to keep the ball in play; Safin continued to oblige the Frenchman by ending most points with an unforced error.
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Post by justsafin on Feb 18, 2009 6:57:22 GMT 3
Knowing this is the farewell season is so hard for me.  It's also sad to see him losing the first round again. I hope Marat can relax more and give the best out of himself. Amelie has struggled for 2 years with injuries and she managed to overcome the shadow and clinch a title recently in Paris. She was thinking about retirement as well, according to the commentators at TTC. Fingers crossed that "something" will happen in the near future or at least before he says good bye to us which would motivate him to play passionately like I first watched him. DAVAI MARAT!!  |
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Post by SAFINNO1 on Feb 18, 2009 18:32:19 GMT 3
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Post by maryb on Feb 19, 2009 2:33:08 GMT 3
Glad to see my Big Pixie on court again, but I hope that he puts this result aside and focuses on the next tournament. He needs to start building on his match experience ... and Dubai should help here. Was a long time between AO and Marseilles ... you got rusty my pet. Can we focus on the next couple of tournaments and building up match experience?
If you get in front, can we keep that momentum going over the next set? Don't relax, and don't get complacent in that opening game.
I have wings to collect this year.
FG
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Post by SAFINNO1 on Feb 19, 2009 18:37:09 GMT 3
Marat is behind the racket i believe  |
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